Our Darkest Hour
by QueensKhioneandFernis
Summary: Spy AU. 'Project Nemesis... the biggest dark spot in spy history. It's been five years since then, and the spy world has just got it's feet back under them. Now's the time to strike.' A wicked smirk curved at the man's lips, 'Knock them down... and don't let them up.' FULL SUMMARY INSIDE. Rated for torture scenes.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**FULL SUMMARY:**

 **'Project Nemesis... the biggest dark spot in spy history. It's been five years since then, and the spy world has just got it's feet back under them. Now's the time to strike.' A wicked smirk curved at the man's lips, 'Knock them down... and don't let them up.'  
**

 **The world is full of spies. Every country has them, or at least someone from their country to represent them on a team. When something goes wrong in the world, a team, or a joint team, works to make it right, before there's any long term damage  
**

 **Five years ago, Project Nemesis devastated the world. The spy world was dealt a hard blow, and have worked since to come back together. But now... a new opponent had made himself known. A man that goes by the codename "Monster", and he will stop at nothing to make sure the spy world is wiped off the face of the earth...**

* * *

"You're eighteen. You're not even old enough to be drinking yet. I shouldn't be condoning this." An accented voice sighed, irritated.

"You're nineteen and own a bar. So who's talking?" A ginger haired young man shot right back.

The blonde behind the bar sighed, crossing his arms, and leaning on the counter behind him, "I only do it because my brother's contacts need a place to lay low sometimes." Royal blue eyes flashed angrily, "You, however, do not, Frost."

"C'mon, we're friends here, Fury. No need to go by codenames... Nero." 'Frost' smirked, icy eyes holding little amusement.

 _-Nero Konzern-_

 _-Hacker, Team Excalibur-_

 _-Brother to Julian Konzern, ties to the Italian Mafia-_

Nero huffed, and flicked a lock of his blond hair out of his eye, "Fine then. Do you prefer Luke, or Lucas? You get so touchy about your name, it's impossible to tell with you."

 _-Lucas McKandless-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Team Snowdrift-_

 _-Brother to Wales McKandless, does NOT talk about his past-_

Lucas narrowed his eyes, "Right now, it's Luke. Anything else, and I'll pin you to this bar so fast you won't know what hit you."

That was not a bluff, and Nero knew it. He'd known Luke long enough to know when he was and wasn't lying. If you didn't do what the ginger haired man said, you'd either end up mentally scarred, or somewhere dead in a ditch.

Silence befell the two friends for a long moment, before Nero sighed, and ended up pouring himself a glass of scotch while refilling Luke's.

"There's a bit of unrest in the spy world right now, you know." Nero said, wearily.

Luke's fingers curled around his glass, tightly. His eyes narrowed, pensively, "Yeah... I know. The leaders of the spy teams, or at least most of them, get together every six months to discuss how progress is going."

"Julian usually comes back from those things wired up tighter than a cord on a crossbow." Nero frowned, "He won't say a word about them, except where we can do better. What goes on during them?"

"Usually, there's a couple of teams that are setting themselves back in progress, and they don't seem to care. And if even one team sets themselves back..." Luke trailed off, and waved a hand, vaguely, "It can set everyone back."

Nero winced, "Ouch. No wonder. How many is it usually?"

"You've heard of Team Garcia, from Brazil? And Team Keres from Hong Kong?" Luke asked, "As well as the neutral spy in all of this, Agent Peacock?"

Nero nodded, "Julian's mentioned them, yes."

"They're, to put it lightly, being royal- ass bitches." Luke said.

Nero took a long swallow of his Scotch, before saying, flatly, "Wow. Now I feel bad for my dear brother."

"You should. But don't tell him I said a word to you, got it?" Luke asked, coldly.

Before Nero could reply, there was the sound of the bar door opening, and Nero looked past Luke. His eyes widened, minutely, before he schooled his expression.

"We're closed." Nero said.

"Not for some well paying customers, I'm sure." A voice that was as sharp as razor nails on a chalk board sounded out behind Luke. Slowly, he reached for the knife that was strapped to his side-

Luke snarled as someone grabbed him by the hair, slammed his head down on the counter, and then yanked up on his feet and pinned him to the counter tightly. Luke found his icy eyes meeting the gray eyes of none other than-

"Hands off, Doji!" Nero barked. Behind Luke, there was movement, but Doji waved his free hand, and suddenly there was several grunts and a yelp of pain.

"Stick to your forte, hacker, and learn not to fight other people's fights." Doji drawled, before he focused on Luke, "Luke McKandless... A.K.A, Agent Frost."

"To you, it's only Agent Frost." Luke hissed back. His retort got paid back by a sharp jab into his stomach, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

"To me, I don't care." Doji snarled, and leaned into Luke's face, fingers tightening in the ginger haired man's hair, "I have a message from you. You know of Agent Monster, don't you?"

Luke felt a spike of fear and dread run through him, and he bucked, trying to get away. Doji held fast, and for Luke's attempt, sent a swift side hand into Luke's throat. The man choked, gasping for air.

"I'll take that you do." Doji chuckled, sinisterly, before becoming serious, "So listen up, little brat. Here's your message: Inside each of us is a seed of good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which will win, but I promise you this, when push comes to shove, you'll find that evil always prevails, wheather it be by some large gap, or a small margin... And I don't plan on going down easily."

Luke swallowed, thickly, stumbling away when Doji released him. Dimly, he realized that Nero, looking dazed, was being released by a few of Doji's henchmen.

"Of course, you and the rest of you pathetic excuses of spy teams know that, don't you?" Doji drawled, "Since I'm still alive from Project Nemesis and all..."

Doji chuckled, "Agent Phoenix should have listened to you all of those years ago... But it's too late now."

"I'll call an emergency meeting." Luke hissed, "And both Nero and I will say that you were here, what you did, what you said-"

"Who would believe someone who was drugged?" Doji snapped his fingers, and Luke whipped around as Nero cried out. One of Doji's henchmen had jammed a syringe full of liquid into Nero's neck, and pushed the pluncher, "Or the street kid who has been known to lie through every situation to get out of tight spots?"

Nero fell to the floor, and Doji laughed. Still laughing, he turned, henchmen following him, and walked out the door, leaving Luke standing alone, shaking with fear and anger.

 _Agent Monster..._ Luke thought, _How is he... There's no way he's still alive... Not after I... Not after where I stabbed him..._

But then again... Agent Monster... that's just what he was.

A monster that couldn't be killed.

* * *

 **Voila! Hope you guys liked it and will drop a review!**


	2. Introduction: GanGan Galaxy and Outlaw

The museum gallery was alive with the sound of glasses clinking and people talking. Though not every talking was in the gallery.

"Sure, just send the thief into the airducts, God forbid anybody else learns to crawl in a crowded space on their stomach..." A young male voice grumbled in irritation.

"Uh, you know we can hear you, right... little boy?" A voice cracked through the male's earpiece.

"Damn it Tsubasa, I am not a little boy! I'm seventeen years old!"

"Until you get older than me, Yuu, you'll be a little boy. Only way that'll happen is with time travel." Tsubasa Ootori said, amusedly.

 _-Tsubasa Ootori-_

 _-Grifter, Team GanGan Galaxy-_

 _-Has a dark side when provoked-_

Yuu grumbled.

 _-Yuu Tendo-_

 _-Thief, GanGan Galaxy-_

 _-possibly was the thief to take off with the Hope Diamond-_

"Agent Justice, Agent Eagle." A new voice said, voice sounding displeased, "How many times have we discussed using our code names and not our real names when on an mission?"

There was a pause.

"Sorry Ging- I mean, Agent Pegasus." Yuu murmured.

 _-Gingka Hagane-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Team GanGan Galaxy-_

 _-slow and methodical in revenge-_

"See that it doesn't happen again." Agent Pegasus said, "Agent Techtress, how are we doing?"

"If Agent Justice continues at his pace, we will be right on schedule." A female voice filtered over the earpieces, "Agent Eagle, you keep the mark distracted. Agent Lightning, have you got the guards taken care of yet?"

 _-Madoka Amano-_

 _-Hacker, Team GanGan Galaxy-_

 _-can cripple an entire country's infrastructure with just the touch of a button-_

"Almost all of them." A male voice came over the line, "I did a headcount when I got inside the museum, there's five left."

"And where would they be located right now?" Agent Justice asked, "I don't want to drop in on my destination and they all be right there."

"They're outside the doors. I'm on my way there now." Agent Lightning replied, and then he was quiet, probably to concentrate on his assignment.

 _-Masamune Kadoya-_

 _-Hitter, Team GanGan Galaxy-_

 _-the hitter who never kills his marks, only knocks them out or puts them in a hospital-_

 _It was odd, really, what Masamune did._ Tsubasa thought to himself, _Every other hitter we know isn't above killing their mark to get a mission done. Masamune, though... why isn't he?_

Tsubasa prided himself on being able to get a good read on people. That's how he had got his codename- Agent Eagle- because they were one of the keenest of sight. And to be a grifter... you had to be able to read people you had never met before like a book.

But Tsubasa just couldn't get a read on Masamune...

"Uh... Agent Techtress?" Tsubasa snapped out of his thoughts at Yuu's voice, "I might be in a bit of a... situation."

There was a pause, long with tension.

"What type of situation, Agent Justice?" Agent Pegasus finally asked.

"I'm at a dead end, in the airducts. There's no grate anywhere for me to go anywhere, no turnoffs, it just.. ends." Yuu said.

Tsubasa shifted, and offered a well placed smile in their mark's direction, who giggled like a little school girl, "Excuse me, m'lady. I have to use the restroom. I shall be back momentarily."

The woman nodded, and Tsubasa made his escape. Once he was out of earshot, he muttered, "Where are you exactly, Yuu?"

"Agent Eagle," Gingka started, exasperated, "We just-"

"We'll discuss it later, Gingka. We've got a problem and we need to address it. No time for formalities. Madoka, look up the floorplans of the building." Tsubasa ordered.

There was a huff from Gingka, probably out of annoyance for Tsubasa taking over the leader position- it happened about fifty percent of the time, if something went bad with a mission, Tsubasa took over- before Madoka answered.

"There's where we messed up." Madoka said, "Our mark's office has a completely seperate air filter system- seperate air condition, heating... everything."

"Okay, new plan. Masamune, how are you on the guards?" Tsubasa asked.

"Just took out the last guard, why?" Masamune replied.

"You're our Plan B." Tsubasa said, "You're getting in that office and getting the files we need. Yuu, you backtrack to the nearest opening, and make your way to Masamune on foot. Madoka, go ahead and hack the keypad, let Masamune in."

"On it." Yuu said.

"And... Masamune, you're good to get in." Madoka said, "I'm locking it behind you, so no one gets suspicious."

The sound of a door opening and shutting came over the line.

"Go ahead and start looking for the vault, Masamune." Yuu said.

"Uh... that won't be a problem." Masamune replied.

"Why not?" Gingka asked, finally speaking back up.

"I'm staring at the door to get into it." Masamune said, "Walk in vault, from what I'm seeing."

Yuu let out a squeak, and Tsubasa paused as there was sound right above him. He looked up, and saw a grate open, followed by Yuu dropping down in front of him. Yuu shot up to his feet, green eyes glittering.

"Try not to take out for dinner first." Tsubasa rolled his eyes, and Yuu flashed him a grin, before turning and running off.

Tsubasa huffed; after having Yuu as a roommate for over five years, you'd think he was used to the blond's antics by now, but no, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Madoka, I'm at the doors." Yuu said, not but three minutes later.

"And... they're open for you." Madoka said, cheerily.

Tsubasa jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him, and he turned to see their mark.

"Did you really think you could fool me... Agent Eagle?" The woman drawled, an accent, European, probably, slipping into her voice, "I'm a grifter that can spot a job being done a mile away."

Tsubasa's shoulders went tense, and his cursed, "Damn it."

"... Tsubasa, what's going on?" Gingka had resorted to using first names, and that meant he knew something was going wrong.

"Uh, guys, we got a problem." Madoka said, sounding worried.

"What now?" Masamune asked.

"For one, you and Yuu got a total of fifteen extra guards headed your way- wait. No... That can't be...What the hell is Agro doing here, from Team Garcia?!"

There was a very colorful curse from Masamune that Tsubasa did not wish to repeat. He instead focused on the woman in front of him.

"Who are you really then?" Tsubasa asked, sliding his feet into a fighting position, just in case things went south.

The woman smiled, and reached up to her hairline, and pulled what Tsubasa now saw was a black wig off. Her hair was ginger red, and when she blinked...

The green contacts fell out, revealing cerculan blue eyes.

"My real name is Alyssa McKandless." The woman drawled, and Tsubasa jerked at that- McKandless?, "But you can call me Agent Enchantress."

Tsubasa swallowed, and then watched as the fan that the mark- Alyssa- had been carrying all night, flashed open, and a blade appeared on the end.

"So..." Tsubasa said, realizing he was in a bit of trouble, "You have the art of Tessenjutsu down, huh?"

Alyssa smirked, and then lunged, leaving Tsubasa to fend for himself.

* * *

"Hurry it up, Yuu." Masamune hissed.

"ETA on your position in less than twenty seconds." Madoka reported.

"Can't rush art." Yuu sang, but his voice was tense as he fiddled with the knob.

"Ten seconds." Madoka said.

"Get ready to grab the file, alright? I'll hold these guys off for as long as I can." Masamune said, sliding in front of Yuu, just as the door burst open.

 _Fifteen against one..._ Masamune thought, closing his eyes and breathing deep, _C'mon Kadoya, you've taken on more than this before in one go. You can do this._

Masamune heard movement on his left, and reacted quickly, eyes flying open. He grabbed the man's knife hand and slipped the knife into his grip. He stabbed it into his opponent's shoulder, and then slammed his head into a nearby desk, knocking him out.

For the next several minutes, Masamune threw punches, took a few himself, and delivered some well placed kicks. Dimly, he realized Yuu joined in, taser in hand as he took out the ones that tried to sneak up on his friend.

Finally, there was only one left; a man twice Masamune's size and far more deadlier.

 _-Argo Garcia-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Hitter, Team Garcia-_

 _-never loses a fight; has blood on his hands-_

"Not bad... for a hitter who never kills his mark." Argo smirked, cracking his knuckles.

Masamune responded by spreading his feet and bringing his fists up, brown eyes unnaturally cold.

"Give me the file, and I'll let you two leave... alive, at least. No guarantee you won't get a bruise or two for taking out my men." Argo said.

"No can do, big man." Yuu said, "We can't let these files fall into the wrong hands." Yuu's green eyes narrowed, "And you count as 'the wrong hands'."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Run, Yuu! Get out of here!" Masamune yelled, and he lunged for Argo, only to be met with a swift punch to the sternum. There was the distinct sound of cracking, and Masamune wheezed out a breath.

Argo turned to Yuu, managing to grab his arm. Yuu stuck his taser into Argo's arm, and left it there until the man let go with a yell of pain and anger.

Masamune used the distraction to grab a nearby vase and swing it down on Argo's head. He then bolted by Argo, ignoring the pain in his body, and snapping,

"Run, Yuu! Gingka!"

"Report, Agent Lightning." Gingka's voice was tense.

"We got the files, we're grabbing Tsubasa, then we'll be out. Be at the front doors!"

Yuu and Masamune rounded a corner.

Tsubasa was dealing with a ginger haired woman, dodging all strikes she aimed his way. She looked oddly familiar, but Masamune didn't have time to think. Instead, he angled his body, and slammed his shoulder into the woman's chest, the momentum behind his running sending her flat on her back.

"C'mon!" Masamune called, "Gingka, coming in hot!"

The three men burst out the doors, racing down the steps. A dark colored truck sat at the bottom, the back door open. Yuu dove in first, followed by Tsubasa, and Masamune coming in last, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Go!" Madoka barked at the redhead in the driver's seat.

Gingka threw the truck into gear, and burned rubber peeling out into the streets.

 _Almost didn't make it out tonight_ , Masamune thought, wincing in pain as he tried to relax into the seats. _What the hell went wrong tonight?_

* * *

The glow of the computers was the only light in the room. Computers lined the wall from top to bottom, and in the middle sat a young man of about eighteen, blue eyes watching every screen with interest.

There was a knock on his door, and the man called out, "Come in!"

"You wanted to see us, Agent Tiger?" A gruff voice asked, and there was the sound of three sets of feet behind Agent Tiger.

"Sure thing, Alpha." Tiger said, "Looks like there's been some attacks on our allies in the spy world."

"What kind of attacks?" Agent Tiger turned to who had spoken, Agent Omega, and answered.

"Take a look for yourself." Tiger pressed a button on a keyboard, and all the screens but two went dark. One showed the scene of a bar, and the other the scene of a office. In both scenes, a fight was going on.

"Agent Strangler and Agent-" Omega was cut off.

" _Wolfe_." Agent Alpha hissed, voice full of venom.

Omega pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yes, thank you brother, I was going to say that."

"I thought he was dead." Agent Centuar said, "After Project Nemesis... we all saw him fall over that cliff."

"Wolfe's got his ways on avoiding death, the son of a bitch." Agent Alpha said.

"Any audio on these cameras, Tiger?" Omega asked.

"Nope. I only record. Never get any audio, unless we're on a missi-" Tiger cut off as a third screen popped up, signaling an incoming e-mail, "Now what's this?"

Tiger opened the e-mail, and the group of four men read over it.

"Emergency meeting huh?" Alpha mused, "Called by Team Snowdrift?"

"Team Snowdrift's leader is who Wolfe is beating up." Centuar pointed out, gesturing to the second screen, "Agent Frost, that is."

"He's calling Agent Wolfe's intentions into question." Tiger noted with a frown.

"We'll go." Alpha decided, "Tiger, get copies of these two incidents." Alpha pointed at the two other screens, "We, if not Team GanGan Galaxy, will call Team Garcia's intentions into question." Alpha's amber eyes narrowed, "We've worked with who we've thought to be backstabbers for too long. It's high time we take a stand against them and let them know we won't stand for it."

* * *

 **Anybody wanna take a guess as to who Alpha, Omega, Centuar, and Tiger are? Leave your guess and reviews in the comments!**


	3. Secrets, Secrets, Secrets

**I AM ON A ROLL AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME!**

 **Except maybe this stupid headache... -_-**

 **Anyways, last update of the day and maybe tomorrow too. Cause come Tuesday, after a four day holiday... it's back to school.**

* * *

Himitsu City... The city that was literally named for the spies of the world. Home to Spy HQ: WWSA- better known as World Wide Spy Assosiation.

"God, just what the fuck was in that drug?!" Nero hissed, holding his head in his hands, "It's been almost three days and I still feel like I'm suffering a goddamn hangover!"

"Language." Julian Konzern said, offhandedly.

 _-Julian Konzern-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Team Excalibur-_

 _-DEFINITE ties to the Italian Mafia-_

"Don't you preach to me about 'language' when you go off on a rant in Italian with nothing but cuss words almost every other hour." Nero leveled a finger in Julian's direction.

Julian rolled his eyes.

"Don't know what you're talking about- you aren't the one that got completely hammered by what was basically a tank!" Masamune grumbled, working hard not to move too much. His ribs were wrapped tight under his shirt, his knuckles bandaged as well.

"I don't want to hear it, especially after _I_ was the one that got drugged!" Nero snapped back.

"Your mission didn't go wrong!" Masamune's hackles rose, and he stood up, leaning close to Nero.

Nero stood up as well, getting right into Masamune's face, "I could care less about some stupid mission that you should've planned to go wrong some way!"

Masamune snarled, and made to swipe at Nero, but a hand on his shoulder and a hand on Nero's shoulder shoved them back into their respective seats.

"Sit down and shut up." A tall teen with black hair and green eyes snarled, "After all, niether of you aren't the one whose past is about to come back and haunt all of us."

 _-Tyler Blackout-_

 _-Hitter, Hacker, Thief, Team Snowdrift-_

 _-psychologists have been mentally scarred by his stories-_

The two fell silent, Masamune out of anger, and Nero out of shame.

"Speaking of which..." Julian's eyes trailed over to the far window, where Lucas and Wales McKandless sat on the frame, talking in hushed voices, "What exactly did Doji say?"

"In summary? He just threatened Luke. But for all I know, he was threatening the spy world as a whole." Nero said, then whistled to short notes, catching Luke's attention, "Who's Agent Monster?"

Luke's faced darkened, at the same time Wales snarled in his direction.

 _-Wales McKandless-_

 _-Thief, Team Excalibur-_

 _-vicious streak mixed with temper, and you'll never live to see another day-_

"None of your business, Konzern!" Wales snapped.

Masamune suddenly remembered something from during GanGan Galaxy's recent mission, and the briefing the followed.

"Who's Agent Enchantress?" Masamune asked.

Now, Wales' eyebrow was twitching visibly, blue eyes gleaming in an angry fire.

Masamune swallowed, actually afraid. He'd never been on the recieving end of Wales' anger, but he'd heard stories about those who had been...

There was a cough, and the three teams present turned to see none other than Agent Phoenix, Gingka's dad, standing there.

"Most of the teams are here... including the ones that have been called into question." Ryo Hagane said.

 _-Ryo Hagane-_

 _-Mastermind, Grifter-_

 _-his second personality, Phoenix, is his deadly side-_

The teams split up- the leaders, minus Doji and Argo, were sitting on one side of the long table, facing Doji and Argo. The teams were left standing in the background, some shifting and ready if things went south.

"We'll start with you, Doji." Ryo said, golden- brown eyes vacant of any emotion, "You and several of your... partners, went to the Konzern bar, and then proceeded to assualt both Nero and Luke."

"There is no proof of this." Doji said, voice calm and cool, "The security cameras were out at the time."

"Convient." Julian said, "And the bruises that Nero and Luke sported say another thing, as well as the drugs that are still making their way out of my brother's system."

"Your brother was in and out of rehab as a younger teenager, was he not?" Doji replied, "For... insanity and drugs, wasn't it? Perhaps he had a relapse, and in an effort to keep him from doing so, Luke tried to stop him. They probably ended up in a fight and that's how they got their injuries."

Silence filled the room, because Doji _did_ have a good point. Before anyone could take the time to form a response, the lights in the room suddenly flickered, went out, and metal sheets slammed down over the windows. A red glow filled the room.

" _Lockdown sequence initiated involuntarily._ " A mechanical, female voice filled the room, " _Can not override._ "

The doors to the conference room opened, and the lights became a little brighter as a group of five walked into the room. Many gaped in shock as they saw who it was.

"Team Outlaw..." Gingka breathed.

The leader of Team Outlaw kept his head held high as he walked behind the row of the team leaders, until he was in front of Doji. He placed his hands on the table, his amber eyes boring into Doji's gray ones.

Doji swallowed, thickly, eyes wide behind his glasses.

"A- Agent Alpha..." Doji stuttered, fear in his voice.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this one... _Agent Wolfe._ Because my team has you on camera."

 _-Ryuga Katashi-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Team Outlaw-_

 _-DO NOT PISS HIM OFF-_

Doji snapped out of his fear, smirking, "Highly unlikely."

Ryuga smirked, fangs showing, and snapped his fingers at one of his teammates.

"Agent Tiger... show them."

 _-Kakeru Tategami-_

 _-Hacker, Team Outlaw-_

 _-Younger brother to Kyoya Tategame of Team Wild Fang-_

Kakeru stepped up, a small box about the size of a ring box in his hands. He placed it on the table, and pressed a small knob on the top of it. The knob flipped up, and a projection appeared on the far wall, revealing the scene of Doji in Nero's bar with Luke- confrontation and all.

Silence filled the room, before there was the sound of someone exhaling in relief, and someone else murmuring, 'thank god'.

"Care to deny that?" Ryuga drawled. Doji stared at the scene replaying over and over on the wall, before he snarled and whipped on one of his teammates.

"You said you deleted the footage!" Doji snapped at Ziggurat.

Ziggurat snarled back, "I did!"

"No one can beat me in the hacker department." Kakeru smirked, eyes glimmering with an emotion no one could quite decipher, "I got it before you deleted it... _Agent Spiral_."

Ziggurat's lip curled, his fury obvious.

"And on to you, Argo." Ryuga said, and Argo cocked an eyebrow.

"I was nowhere near there." He said, smirking.

"No, of course not. You were in Tokyo, beating up Agent Lightning." Ryuga confirmed. He nodded at Kakeru, and Kakeru flipped the knob again, and a new scene showed up on the wall:

Argo in Agent Enchantress' office, facing off against Yuu and Masamune.

Argo shrugged, "So what? Why am even here if that's why you're bringing me in for questioning?"

"Agent Pegasus, if you would explain what happened during this particular mission?" Ryuga asked.

Gingka blinked at being addressed, before clearing his throat, "We were working on a mark: a musuem curator. She had some files on..." Here, he forced himself to breathe, "Project Nemesis."

A ripple of unrest went through the room.

"Those files were full of evidence that had lists of Argo's previous contacts, and ones that are probably still alive. What we didn't realize, was... well... the curator wasn't who we thought she was. Her actual name was Agent Enchantress... AKA, Alyssa McKandless."

"McKandless?" The leader of Wild Fang asked, blue eyes glinting in interest.

 _-Kyoya Tategami-_

 _-Mastermind, Hitter, Team Wild Fang-_

 _-dangerous and unafraid-_

"Start talking- either one of you." Kyoya ordered.

Luke firmly kept his mouth shut, crossing his arms shut and sinking back in his chair. Wales looked ready to murder someone.

"Perhaps you should call their loyalties into question as well." Doji purred, "Lucas... have you mentioned anything about Agent Monster?"

Luke narrowed his eyes and-

Wales finally snapped.

With a snarl, he lunged for Doji. There was sudden flash of black, white, and orange, and Wales was in a headlock that was delievered by a member of Team Outlaw.

 _-Helios-_

 _-Hitter, Team Outlaw-_

 _-quiet, but not to be underestimated-_

"Calm down." Helios spoke, voice low, "Attacking him won't solve anything. Just answer any questions anyone has for you or your brother."

Wales, slippery as he was when it came to thieving, couldn't get loose of Helios' grip. Eventually he slumped, and Helios let him go.

"Question one: who's Agent Enchantress?" Gingka asked.

There was a long pause, before Wales answered, "Our... mother. She... ran away when I was four and Luke was two. We only knew what her codename was because of our dad." Wales' lips tightened, "If he could be called that. He was a monster out of the depths of hell. How do you think he got his codename?"

"You mean..." Ryo blinked, "This, Agent Monster... is your father?!"

* * *

 **Ba- da- da! Any of you expecting that? Yes? Maybe? No? Leave a review below!**


	4. Who Can We Trust?

"Boss?" Luke glanced to his left at the low murmur in his ear. A man with brown hair and blue eyes was looking at Luke with concern, "Do we need to cut out of here? I know you don't like discussing your past."

 _-Ryder Colt-_

 _-Grifter, Team Snowdrift-_

 _-insists of formalities in public, but in private he doesn't care-_

Luke's lips tightened into a thin line, as he listened to the current commotion of everyone talking at once.

"No..." Luke inhaled, deeply, before sighing, "I... I'm fine. So long as no one addresses me directly."

"Well, just say the word, and Tyler and I will cause a distraction for you." Ryder said.

Luke nodded, but that was his only reply.

Ryder disappeared back into the shadows with Tyler.

A shrill whistle broke through the air, and everyone went quiet, and turned to who had whistled.

 _-Bao Blackheart-_

 _-Thief, Team Wang Hu Zhong-_

 _-alias: The Crimson Flash, as he's too fast for anyone to catch-_

Bao's gold eyes flickered over the room, his eyes holding each person with a gaze that kept them from saying a word. He finally spoke, his voice holding a note of finality.

"Let's have Wales and Luke tell their side of the story." Bao said, "Just because their parents may not be the... best, people, in the world, doesn't mean that Wales and Luke aren't. We've known them since before Project Nemesis-"

"One of them, at least." Masamune muttered and shut up at the glare Bao leveled his way.

"And they've never betrayed us." Bao continued, "Does anyone remember when Julian temporarily went dark side?"

There was some shifting, a scowl from Nero, and a mutter from Julian of, "Why'd you have to bring that up?" before there was some nodding from people in the room.

"Wales helped us get Julian back. He and Sophie both did." Bao said, "They were both willing to put their lives on the line if it meant getting their friend back on our side."

"Wales more so than me." Sophie admitted.

 _-Sophie Deveraux-_

 _-Grifter, Team Excalibur-_

 _-not even she knows all of the names she's used on missions-_

"See my point?" Bao said, "And all of you, or maybe just some of you, I want you to think when _Luke_ has put his life on the line, or his career, to get your asses out of trouble."

Luke blinked, trying to think himself- he knew he'd helped a few people in here, definetely gotten them out of some sort of trouble, but he'd never put his career or _life_ on the line, and it couldn't possibly be that many times-

"Three years ago, I was in Greenland." Luke blinked and turned to who had spoken.

 _-King-_

 _-Hitter, Team Dungeon-_

 _-better known as Agent Ares for his violent kills-_

"I got double crossed by who I thought was my trusted inside man on the job. Turns out he was working for my mark the entire time." King continued, "And I guess Luke got wind of it or something, cause the next thing I know..."

* * *

 _-FLASHBACK-_

 _"So now maybe we renegotiate the deal." Baddie #1 was saying as King was fiddling with the handcuffs on his wrists._

 _"Renegotiating after the package has been delievered..." King shook his head, "Hardly seems fair. What terms did you have in mind?"_

 _"Agent Ares!" King and the Baddies looked up at the voice that echoed on the other end of the room. From the shadows stepped Agent TKO, "You're a bit of a hard man to find."_

 _"Tyler Blackout." King smirked, "Picking a hell of a time to settle scores there buddy."_

 _Tyler frowned a little, as he knew what King was referring to- just a year earlier the two men had gotten into a violent scuffle that had left Tyler with nine ribs broken and a concussion._

 _"Who are you?" Baddie #1 asked Tyler._

 _"Hey..." Tyler said, arching a brow and looking at King, "Not here to settle any scores. Came to get you out of this mess, and offer you a job."_

 _"Well, as you can see," King held up his handcuffed hands, "I'm fairly unhappy in my current job situation. What terms do you have in mind?"_

 _"Two days." Tyler made to step forward but two of the Baddies raised their guns, pointing them into his chest, stopping him in his tracks. Tyler paused, before grabbing their wrists and then slamming his elbows into their faces, knocking them out cold. He straightened out his jacket, "Six figures."_

 _"Not bad." King stood up, and slammed his elbows into two more of the Baddies necks, choking them them and sending them down._

 _"And Team Snowdrift would owe you a favor." Tyler crossed his arms._

 _"Alright, I can deal with that." King smirked, then headbutted one more guy, while Tyler dealt a solid right hook to another._

 _"That a deal?" Tyler asked, standing next to King._

 _King surveyed their damage, before turning to Tyler, offering a grin and holding up a handcuffed hand, "Deal."_

 _They turned to Baddie #1, King saying, "Now if we can just get the keys to these pesky handcuffs..."_

 _"I think he's got them- have you got him?" Tyler asked Baddie #1, before he and King descended on the man in true hitter style._

 _END FLASHBACK_

* * *

"You're still saving that favor, aren't you?" Tyler asked, eyeing King.

"Course I am! I'm not gonna just gonna use it up whenever I'd want! I may not be the smartest of people, but I do think!" King exclaimed, then he continued, "Point is... You got me out of that situation, weather for yourself or by Luke's orders- and I'm guessing it's the latter, since you said your entire team would owe me favor- and I'd trust Luke with my life. I was in his territory, my team didn't know I was there, and he didn't leave me hanging."

Luke scratched the back of his neck, while looking away, embarrassed.

"It was nothing..." Luke muttered.

"If that was nothing, then what you did for me was definetely something." Agent Player said.

 _-Chao Xin Wang-_

 _-Grifter, Team Wang Hu Zhong-_

 _-his codename comes from the fact he can 'play' anyone like a fiddle-_

Luke shook his head, "Disarming a bomb was nothing, once again."

"I was _holding_ the bomb!" Chao Xin exclaimed, "It was a motion sensitive one, and if you hadn't been there I'd be dead right now!" He blinked, "What were you doing there, in _Mongolia_ of all places? That's over 4,000 miles away from Greenland!"

"The same thing you were- I was working the same mark you were. After I did what I did in saving your life," Luke shifted in his seat, "I called in a few favors, found out why you were after the same mark I was, and... let you have it."

All of Wang Hu Zhong looked at Luke in shock.

"You... dropped a mark for us? Why?" Bao asked, after a long moment of silence.

"She was smuggling kids, both kids who had parents and didn't have parents, out of China and into Mongolia, right?" Luke asked and Bao nodded. Luke cleared his throat, "Normally, a case like that I would've been all over, even if I was after her for a different reason, but when I found out she'd grabbed a family member of one of you..."

Chao Xin's face darkened, his blue- gray eyes going almost black, "Yeah... the bitch nabbed my sister. I _wasn't_ about to let that go unpunished."

"I left it to you. No one should get in the way of family, right?" Luke asked, but he was looking at Wales as he spoke.

Wales nodded, not breaking the gaze.

"Oh, this is preposterous!" Doji exclaimed, making his presence known again, "You can't possibly think that just because he saved some of you, that you can all trust him!"

"What's _preposterous,_ " Ryuga snarled, "Is the fact that we decided to trust any of you- Team Akui, _or_ Team Garcia- five years ago! We should've known you would have backstabbed us- it was just a matter of time. And you will be charged for your crimes- your assaults on Agent Frost and Lightning will just be the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure if we do a little digging, we'll find a lot more to charge you for." Ryuga turned his head to Ryo, "Where do you want to hold them until we can put them away for good?"

Before Ryo could answer, the metal sheets on the window flew up.

"What the- Kakeru!" Ryuga barked at Kakeru, who had whipped out his mini laptop and was typing away on it, "Did I tell you to-"

"It's not me!" Kakeru exclaimed, "S- someone has overridden my system-"

The room went pitch black, the only light from the night lights of the city outside.

"Everyone get down!" Tyler barked, "We got incoming!"

The entire room moved in sync, hitting the floor as the glass shattered and seven figures flew in on cables, dressed in black from head to toe. Their faces were covered in black masks, their heads covered in hoods.

Two of the figures pulled a can off their being, and flipped them into the middle of the room. There was an explosion of light from one can, and an explosion of gas from the other.

There was a mix of coughing and cursing as the gas filled the room, the flash bomb having disoriented many of the people in the room, and the gas bomb knocking out more in mere seconds.

"Grab Team Akui and Garcia!" The tallest figure barked, the voice female, but muffled due to her mask.

 _That voice..._ Tsubasa thought, dazedly, _Don't I know that voice...?_

There was movement, and the last thing that Agent Eagle saw was the Garcias and Team Akui making their escape with the masked figures.

* * *

 ***shrug, smirk* Go ahead, sue me for the ending! I don't regret a thing! Leaves you in suspense, don't it?**

 **Leave a review, my pretties!**


	5. Where Loyalties Lay

"What you did was brash and irresponsible, Agent Nightwolf." Doji frowned at the Agent in front of him, "Agent Monster won't be happy."

Agent Nightwolf snorted, "You think I care what he thinks?" Nightwolf crossed their arms, "I don't even wanna be working for him, but he pays good."

 _-Agent Nightwolf-_

 _-Mastermind-_

 _-no one has ever been able to outsmart Nightwolf-_

"You can't be a neutral party, and you know it. The only ones that can get away with that are Jack and Damian." Ziggurat sneered, stepping up to Nightwolf, "And that's because they have..."

"The resources you used to have, but don't have." Nightwolf smirked.

Before Ziggurat could reply to that, there was a cry of outrage, followed by a shout of pain.

"Keep your hands off me, you filthy snake!"

"Agent Medusa!" Nightwolf called, "What happened?"

 _-Agent Medusa-_

 _-Hacker-_

 _-youngest hacker known in the spy world-_

"This... This... _snake_ tried to-" Agent Medusa cut off, shuddering as the man she'd just flipped started laughing as he stood up.

 _-Reiji Mizuchi-_

 _-hitter, Team Akui-_

 _-cunning as a snake, he uses his agility to his advantage-_

"C'mon, little one..." Reiji hissed, "It was just a little touch!"

"You assaulted me, is what you did!" Agent Medusa snapped back.

Agent Nightwolf's entire body went still.

"Reiji... don't antagonize Agent Medusa. Medusa will be working with us closely, until Agent Monster is done with their help." Doji drawled, but the smirk on his face and the look in his eyes said he wasn't really berating his agent. He turned to Nightwolf, "Keep a handle on your agents, Nightwolf. I won't have them beating up my agents."

Agent Nightwolf snarled, and whipped off her hood and mask, revealing a set of burning black eyes and black and silver hair.

Doji stepped back, startled.

"Listen up, _Doji_." Nightwolf snarled, jabbing a gloved finger into Doji's chest, " _My_ agents are under my control! It's yours that are out of line! Agent Medusa was defending herself! If she said she didn't want Reiji around her, and then he went ahead and touched her without her consent- she had every reason to knock him flat!"

"I disagree." Doji smirked, "You and your team... you don't really work for Agent Monster- my team and Team Garcia does. You and your team... you were only hired."

"Blackmailed, more like!" Nightwolf barked.

"Whatever makes you happy." Doji continued, "The point is... you have to do what _we_ say, without fight." Doji's lips curled up in a cruel smirk, "You wouldn't want anything to happen to your loved ones... would you?"

* * *

"Ow... anyone else have ringing ears?" Agent Omega asked.

 _-Ryuto Katashi-_

 _-Thief, Team Outlaw-_

 _-made off with the Crown Jewels at the age of 13-_

"It came from that fucking flash bomb..." Kakeru grumbled, sitting up not far away and holding his head, "Just what the fuck happened?!"

"Team Akui and Team Garcia had people help them escape, that's what." Tyler seethed, "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Should've seen it coming!"

"No one could have predicted that." Agent Zeus murmured, helping Agent Quetzalcoatl to his feet.

 _-Dynamis-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Team Mystic-_

 _-his mysteriousness has got him out of many situations-_

"No kidding!" Agent Quetzalcoatl exclaimed, shaking his head and immeadiatly regreting it.

 _-Tithi-_

 _-Thief, Team Mystic-_

 _-recruited by Dynamis at age 12, lived on the streets of Mexico as a child-_

"Ow... that hurt." Tithi muttered.

"Sit still for a few minutes. It takes a while to get over an attack like that." Ryder suggested.

"Where's Luke?!" Wales exclaimed suddenly, eyes wild as he looked over the room.

There was a long, drawn out moment of silence.

"Over here..." There was a groan, and Wales rushed over to the far side of the room, where Luke was just pulling himself up into a sitting position. He looked ten times older than he actually was, "How the hell did I get over here?"

"Don't know, don't care, you're alive- you feel like anything's broken? Are you okay?" Wales asked, hovering.

Luke sweatdropped, "Mother henning, much?"

"Shut it. I'm entitled to this- what with the current situation and being your brother." Wales said.

Kakeru had regained his senses enough to bring up the security footage for the attack. He was eyeing his computer screen, face going paler and paler with each passing moment.

"Well, fuck." Kakeru finally said, catching everyone's attention.

"What's up?" Kyoya asked his brother, moving over to look at the screen. He blinked, frowned, and asked, "Who the hell is that?"

"If I had to guess by his looks?" Kakeru asked, "I'd guess that that is Agent Monster, AKA, Wales and Luke's father."

It was scary how Wales seemed to materialize next to Kakeru, blue eyes narrowed in anger, " _Where_?!"

Kakeru jumped, yelping, and falling out of his seat, "Give a guy a warning, why don't you?! Yeesh!"

Kyoya pointed at the screen, "Looks like he came in while we were knocked out."

Some of the other agents moved in, looking at the video in interest, watching as Agent Monster walked amoung their unconsious bodies, crouching down next to a few. A few he waved a hand over, like he wanted to touch them, but didn't. Instead he stood up, and moved on until he came to Luke.

Wales' hand clenched into a tight, white knuckled fist as he watched their father crouch over Luke, and-

The screen suddenly filled with static.

"... well that's one way to leave everyone in suspense." Masamune voiced.

Wales snarled and whipped on the hitter, but before he could make a move in the other man's direction, Julian laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Not worth it, Wales. Let it go and save that anger for when you have a real outlet for it." Julian said.

"Are we not gonna focus on who the hell busted Doji and Argo's teams out of here? That was some damn good teamwork, better than I've seen amoung any of ours in a long time." Everyone turned to who had spoken, a tall blonde man with violet eyes stood a few feet away from the group, arms crossed.

 _-Chris Cadelle-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Team Dungeon-_

 _-alias: Phantom, for being able to get in and out of situations without a trace-_

"Agent Orion... what are you talking about?" Ryo asked, slowly.

"They're teamwork was better than even the team here that's been around the longest: better than Team GanGan Galaxy's." Chris said, "There's only one team whose teamwork is better than their's."

It was like a light bulb went off over the group. Several people paled, Bao and Agent Falcon being two of them, when they realized the implications.

"Team Blackheart..." Bao whispered, " _My sister is working with Agent Monster_?!"

"There's no way my sister would work for someone as... well, I don't know how evil he is, but she wouldn't work for anyone evil!" Agent Falcon exclaimed.

 _-Nile Storm-_

 _-Thief, Team Wild Fang-_

 _-sharp as a whip, he doesn't miss anything-_

"Christina would." Chris' face darkened, "It runs in the Cadelle family. Go evil for a while, then something happens that we turn our back on that side."

"Uh, one problem." Tsubasa said, "I heard one of them speak before I blacked out: it wasn't Kuro's voice, or any of Team Blackheart's voices- it was Agent Enchantress' voice. Wales and Luke's mother's voice."

"Team Blackheart wasn't here for this meeting." Nero pointed out.

"They are dealing with a drug smuggling ring in Australia right now." Ryo said, frowning, "At least, that was the e-mail Kuro sent me said, on why she or any of her team wouldn't be able to attend this meeting."

"Convient." Dynamis muttered.

There was silence for a long moment, before Chris sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Until we can rule them out... I'm putting Team Blackheart down as my number one suspects on who took us out tonight. Until evidence comes to light that they aren't... well, I'll stop suspecting then."

* * *

Across the street, on a dark roof, a figure stood, a smirk on their faces as they pulled the headphones on their head off, having heard every word the group had said.

"They don't know the hell that's about to descend on them, do they?" The figure chuckled to himself, "The things that are about to come back and haunt them?"

 _Project Nemesis... the biggest dark spot in spy history. It's been five years since then, almost to the date, and the spy world has just got their feet under them. Now's the time to strike._ The man thought with a wicked smirk, _Knock them down, keep them down... and don't let them back up._

* * *

 **This is the last update on this story for a while. I have a busy week this week, and even busier weekend. So if I do manage to write anything for any story... it'll be a short chapter. In the meantime...**

 **Review?**


	6. The Devil In Disguise

**Dark Heart does not belong to me. He is owned by ShadowGale Heart.**

* * *

"Interesting..." A voice murmured, "Team Blackheart's under investigation?"

"Ooh, did I hear the words 'Team Blackheart'?" The figure jumped as one of his team mates appeared behind him, looking at the computer screen before him. A small tick mark appeared on his forehead.

 _-Damian Hart-_

 _-Hitter, Hacker, Team Dame-_

 _-easily irritated, has a sadistic sort of temper-_

"Jack, would you get out of my personal space?" Damian asked, keeping himself from punching his team mate.

Jack jumped over the back of the couch, "What were you saying about Team Blackheart being under investigation?"

 _-Jack-_

 _-Grifter, Team Dame-_

 _-artistic and well known for confusing even his team mates-_

"Just that. Apparently, Ryo and the other teams suspect Team Blackheart for being in association with some new bad guys that's popped up... Agent Monster and Agent Enchantress... And also, Team Garcia and Team Akui have gone rogue." Damian said, sitting back into the couch, a thoughtful look on his face as he stared at his computer screen.

"But they're only under investigation?" Jack asked, "Why haven't been brought in yet?"

"According to Ryo's e-mails..." Damain typed a few keys on the keyboard, "They're supposedly dealing with a drug smuggling ring in Austrailia."

"Supposedly?" Jack may have been a bit of an airhead at times, but that didn't mean he didn't catch things. He was notorious for catching the small details. It was an artist thing, according to him.

"Supposedly." Damian sighed, "Oh well. Guess there's no way to figure it out-" Damian cut off when he saw the look Jack's face. He deadpanned, "Whatever you have planned, leave me out of it. Boss will never go for it."

Jack grinned at him, "Oh, by dear friend," A deadly look crossed Jack's face, and Damian swallowed, "You have no choice."

* * *

"The answer's no."

Jack and Damian had barely stepped three feet into their boss's office when he spoke.

"Aw, but you don't even know what we were gonna say!" Jack pouted.

"Doesn't matter. If it involves you, Jack, the answer is always no." Their boss said.

"Okay, good. Let's go, Jack." Damian turned and started to walk out, but Jack's voice stopped him.

"Oh well," Jack sighed, mockingly, "If you won't say yes to my plan, then I guess we can't prove that Team Blackheart is on the bad side... and that Jasmine is just plain evil, as you've always said."

Damian facepalmed at the same time their boss snapped the pen in his hand.

"Jack..." Their boss' breathing turned heavy, "How many times have I told you, _not to bring that up_."

"That's it, I'm outta here." Damian turned to leave, but Jack grabbed him.

"I AM NOT GOING TO BE YOUR SHIELD, LET ME GO!" Damian panicked, his fight or flight instincts firmly in "flight" mode.

"Boss, listen, please. There are rumors that Team Blackheart have gone evil. If you say yes to my plan... we can prove it in front of the world and then you can get your revenge... it's perfect!" Jack pleaded.

Their boss's eyes flashed red before going back to purple, "While _one_ part of me wants to slaughter you for bringing her up, it also wouldn't miss the chance for revenge...So let's hear it."

Jack grinned at Damian, while Damian looked at Jack like he'd gone mad.

* * *

"Oh, well this is interesting..." A young woman with black hair stared at her mail, a dark purple envelope with silver writing standing out to her.

"What is?" Another figure, this one a man, with the brown hair and hazel eyes, asked, standing next to her. He looked up from his phone, curious.

"An invitation, cousin dear." The woman said, "Apparently.. a private spy convention. A party in... ooh, in the Luxembourg Palace!"

"How does anyone manage to book an event at that place?!" The woman's cousin exclaimed.

"Apparently..." The girl grinned, and held up the envelope, tapping the upper left corner, "Agent Yami can." Her grin grew wider, "Let's call in Randi, and go! If not to see what happens, then to stir up a little trouble."

* * *

"Does boss know how you did this?" Damian found himself asking, looking over the room full of people in shock. He was dressed in a black suit, white crisp shirt, and a blue and green striped tie.

"Nope. But I'll tell you this," Jack grinned, "I used your money to book the room."

Jack turned and walked off, and by the time Damian realized what his partner had said, Jack had disappeared.

* * *

"I don't wanna be here." A female voice complained, "Especially if it's being hosted by... well, the one person I don't wanna bring up. Seriously, Agent Yami is downright scary!"

"So says you. How would you know, _Agent Vampress_?" Another female voice shot right back.

 _-Agent Vampress-_

 _-Grifter-_

 _-ties to the Russian Mafia-_

"Oh, I don't know- how about the fact I grew up with him?" Vampress snapped, "It's not like there will be a few people here you don't wanna see, _Huntress._ "

 _-Agent Huntress-_

 _-Thief-_

 _-she's the master of playing innocent-_

"Ladies, ladies, please..." A voice drawled and the two women looked up to see none other than Ziggurat standing behind them, "Let's not make a scene. Move naturally, and don't bring attention to yourselves. You disguised yourselves well- don't mess it up..." Ziggurat grinned, evilly, "Not unless, of course, you'd like to deal with Agent Monster, if you do mess up."

Huntress and Vampress looked away, quickly, "No sir."

"Hm, that's what I thought."

* * *

"Well, well... you're coming out of the shadows, are you, Agent Yami? Or do you prefer your real name, Dark Heart?" Ryo asked, stepping up to a purple eyed, black haired young man.

Dark Heart scowled at Ryo.

 _-Dark Heart-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Thief, Team Dame-_

 _-keep your distance, you keep your sanity-_

"I only came because my idiot team mates-" Dark Heart jerked a thumb at Damian and Jack, who stood on the other side of the room, "Gave me a good reason to be here."

Ryo raised an eyebrow, and surveyed the room himself, "I'm here, looking for Team Blackheart. I need to inter- question, their leader. But I haven't seen any of them."

Dark Heart snorted, "Not surprised."

"But you have a set of eyes on you, it looks like." Ryo said.

"Huh?" Dark Heart blinked.

"See for yourself." Ryo gestured vaguely across the room, and Dark Heart's purple eyes met ice blue.

The woman was dressed in a black, floor length dress with ice blue highlights. Her black hair, streaked with ice blue and royal blue, was pushed out of her face in a side braid.

She cocked an eyebrow at Dark Heart, lifted her glass of wine to take a sip, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Suspicious." Dark Heart muttered.

"Ah, but that's how Agent Khione and her team operates." Ryo mused.

"... who's Agent Khione?" Dark Heart, for once, was utterly clueless.

"The leader of Russia's team, darling." Dark Heart jumped a little as the woman appeared on his other side, "My real name is Violet Starlet."

 _-Violet Starlet-_

 _-Mastermind, Leader, Thief, Team Midnight-_

 _-cunning, beautiful, and sly, never turn your back on her-_

Dark Heart blinked.

"And I must say... this party seems to be losing its flare." Violet mused.

"Agent Khione," Ryo said, "Do not make me detain you for disturbing the peace."

Violet pouted, batting her eyelashes at Ryo, "Me and my team- you know we either like to watch trouble, or cause it. You can't blame us, can you Agent Phoenix?"

Ryo blinked, suddenly finding himself enraptured-

Dark Heart snapped his fingers in front of the redhead's eyes, breaking the trance Violet had put him under.

Violet pouted more, "You're no fun."

"I don't do fun." Dark Heart deadpanned, "Now get away from me. And don't cause trouble unless you wanna deal with me."

Violet smiled, sultry, before it faded into a look of anger and disgust.

"Who does she think she's fooling?" Violet hissed, angrily.

Dark Heart turned to look over his shoulder, curious as to who Violet was referring to. His entire body went rigid when his purple eyes met blood red.

 _Well, well.._ A voice purred in the back of Dark Heart's mind, _Look who decided to show up..._

Violet hissed out the name, angry and venomous.

"Jasmine Laize."

* * *

 **Ba- da- da! Cliff- hanger! How's that for you? Leave a review my pretties!**


	7. For Your Entertainment

_**gosse**_ **is French for 'brat'**

 _ **merde**_ **is Italian for 'fuck'**

* * *

"Sure, antagonize the ex- boyfriend, something Nightwolf specifically told us _not_ to do." Huntress muttered into her earpiece.

Jasmine heard every word, but ignored it, keeping her eyes on Dark Heart.

" _Vampress..._ " Huntress growled.

Jasmine ignored her, and began making her way through the crowd, moving fluidly.

"Jasmine..." The woman froze in her tracks a the new voice in her ear, "If you continue this path, you _will_ regret it."

Jasmine kept her eyes on Dark Heart as she debated her choices. Her eyes strayed to Ryo, who was eyeing her while standing tense, and then to Violet. Jasmine's lips curled up in a sneer at the sight of Agent Khione.

Agent Khione returned the sentiment, her face a snarling mask.

Jasmine made her decision, turning on her heel and walking off.

"Good choice..." The voice from before purred, "Very good choice."

* * *

"Brandon, Randi." Dark Heart turned at Violet's voice, seeing her place an earpiece in her ear, "Cover the exits- Jasmine's here, and I don't want her getting out of here."

Dark Heart snapped his fingers across the room at Jack and Damian. One hand signal later, and they were splitting up, patrolling the room.

 _Idiots... But obedient idiots_ , a voice said in the back of Dark Heart's mind.

 _Shut up._ Dark Heart replied, bitingly.

 _Jasmine's here- the answer is no._

Dark Heart sighed and rubbed his temples.

* * *

"I know you hate Jasmine, but what do you expect to do with her when we nab her?" A man with black hair and hazel eyes asked.

 _-Brandon Starlet-_

 _-Hacker, Grifter, Team Midnight-_

 _-cousins with Violet, just as sly and smart-_

"Kill her. Or beat her and then let her go with a warning worthy of Team Midnight. She double crossed us, hung us out to dry." Violet replied.

"I'm guessing this is before you asked me to join the team?" A female voice filtered over the line.

 _-Randi Night-_

 _-Hitter, Team Midnight-_

 _-still learning the tricks of the spy world-_

"Yep." Brandon confirmed, "A mission that went wrong, when Jasmine was on our team. She... double crossed us, to put it lightly."

"How bad?"

"..."

"We lost nearly all of our assets." Violet's voice was scathing, "We had to build back up from scratch."

"Was this during Project Nemesis?"

Brandon sighed, "Jasmine is known to side with the bad guys- just keep that in mind."

* * *

"I didn't realize Team Dame had so many members on the team." Nero said, eyeing the four people- two guards on the doors and the two more patrolling the floor.

"Look again, little man." Tyler said, "The two guarding the doors? They're Team Midnight, from Russia."

"How can you tell?" Nero blinked.

"The tattoos on their inner left wrists: a cresent moon with four stars in the arc." Tyler said.

"There's only two members on Team Midnight?" Nero looked confused, "How does that work?"

Tyler rolled his eyes, "There's three, _gosse_. The third member is here in the crowd somewhere."

Nero scowled as his brother stepped up next to him, a glass of champagne in his hand.

"Your brother's clueless in perception, Julian." Tyler said.

Julian raised an eyebrow, "Is he now?"

Nero scowled deeper at Tyler, "Screw you."

"Oh, wouldn't you love to though?" Tyler purred.

Julian spit his drink out, coughing violently. Nero went beet red, and he looked away, while adjusting his scarlet tie.

Tyler blinked, noticing Nero's change in demeanor, and a wicked smirk curved at his lips.

"Oh... well, this is just wonderful." Tyler drawled, "Nero Konzern- you're gay, aren't you?"

"Uh, I, um..." Nero spluttered.

Tyler hooked a finger around Nero's tie, pulling him close, "You are, aren't you?"

Nero made a distressed noise.

"Here's my number." A card flashed in Tyler's hand, but before he could give it to Nero, it was snatched from his hand, and Tyler found himself face to face with Julian.

"You would do well to _not so blatantly flirt with my brother_ when I'm standing next to him." Julian seethed, "Keep that in mind... _Agent._ "

Tyler met Julian's glare with an arched eyebrow, before chuckling a little, and then winking at Nero.

"Call for a good time, _mi amoure_." Tyler drawled.

Before Julian could punch him, Tyler walked off.

* * *

"I can't believe I just listened to that." Agent Medusa groaned, banging their head on the van wall, "I need bleach..."

Next to them, a figure snorted, "At least you know. Imagine something like that happening out of the blue!"

"That _was_ out of the blue, and speaking from experience, are we Agent Lotus?" Medusa asked.

 _-Agent Lotus-_

 _-hitter-_

 _-don't let their looks fool you: they can pack a hell of a punch-_

"Nope. I just know people who have." Lotus replied.

"Lovely." Medusa said, dryly, then turned back to thier computers. They blinked, typed a few things, then said, " _Merde_."

"I'm... assuming something is wrong?" Lotus asked.

Medusa pulled on a headset, frowning.

"Agent Enchantress... what are you doing?" Medusa asked, "If you go in-"

"Relax, Agent Medusa." Enchantress drawled, "I'm just gonna stir up a little trouble, is all."

There was a long moment of silence, before Agent Huntress spoke.

"Well, this mission just went to hell."

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter was so short! It was all I could do today during school lunch hour... I do not apologize for the Tyler and Nero scene. Those who know how I right know I think Nero is gay, and know that Tyler, as my OC, is bisexual, and often with Nero.**

 **So... I ended this chapter on a cliffhanger, and in the next chapter... *giggle* we have certain people stirring up trouble. Oh well, ciao for now!** **Leave a review?**


	8. In A World of Outcasts

Huntress was no fool. She knew when things were about to go south. And for this mission, many things were about to add up to one giant thing.

For one, Jasmine had gone against protocol, let herself be seen by Dark Heart- her ex, and god knew that if they actually got within five feet of each other, there would be _hell to pay._ Agent Enchantress was about to make her way into this room- Huntress could think of three people off the top of her head that would react to that- and that would be bad news.

And finally, she knew when she was being followed.

Huntress made her way out into hallway outside of the ballroom, taking a few turns, just to confirm her suspicions, before ducking behind a statue and out of sight.

* * *

Chris turned the corner, and stopped in his tracks.

 _What in the world...?_ Chris wondered, _Where'd she go?!_

He made a few steps down the empty hallway, glancing around in confusion and shock.

 _Wait a second..._ Chris blinked, _Christina's a thief. Which means I shouldn't be looking ahead of me, but..._

Chris whirled quickly, grabbed the knife, and quickly flipping out of the hand that held it and into his own.

"I should be looking behind me." Chris finished his thought out loud.

Christina Cadelle narrowed her eyes, "Nicely done."

"I taught you that trick..." Chris frowned, tossing the knife back and forth between his hands, eyeing his younger sister.

"Not my fault you were a thief before a mastermind." Christina drawled, her Southern accent bleeding through her voice.

Chris' eyes narrowed, the knife finding a solid place in the grip of his hand, "Get out while you can."

"You gonna kill your own sister?" Christina crossed her arms.

"If I'm forced to, I will." Chris said, bluntly, and he saw a flicker of fear cross Christina's face, before it disappeared.

He heard a crackle, and he blinked, wondering what it was, before he saw the earpieace in Christina's ear.

"Who's with you?" Chris made to grab Christina's wrist, but the lights in the hallway flickered, then went out completely. Chris was left grabbing air, stumbling over his own two feet.

A leg connected with his ankles, sweeping his legs out from under him. He pitched face forward into the floor, knife flying out of his hands with a clatter.

Chris heard swift footsteps beside him. He reached blindly, but he was too slow- he grabbed empty air, and the footsteps faded into the distance.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Next to him, in the darkness, Ryuga heard Agent Centuar, speak.

 _-Kenta Yumiya-_

 _-Grifter, Team Outlaw-_

 _-Ryuga's trusted second in command-_

"Language." Ryuga reprimanded the eighteen year old.

"Bug off, Ryuga. I asked a question." Kenta shot right back. Ryuga hid a sigh; people said Kenta was turning more and more into Ryuga, and the mastermind had to admit, there were some days he saw it.

The lights flickered, but only one came on, focused on the far doorway. A woman stood in the spotlight.

The woman was tall, slim, and only slightly muscular. She had ginger hair, and cerculan eyes. She was dressed to the nines in a mint green dress with darker green highlights, and the fabric hugged her curves in all the right places.

Ryuga blinked as Kenta snapped his fingers in front of his face, "Hey, Casanova. Eyes front and center- you're drooling."

Ryuga scowled at Kenta, who only arched an eyebrow back at him.

"Well, well... isn't this a lovely party?" The woman spoke, her voice low and sultry, enchanting. "Why wasn't I, Agent Enchantress, invited?"

 _-Alyssa McKandless-_

 _-Mastermind, Grifter, Thief, Hitter-_

 _-one word out of her mouth, and you're caught in her trap-_

"Maybe because you're an evil bitch?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Wales or Luke who spoke first, but Agent Kronos.

 _-Aguma-_

 _-hitter, Team Wang Hu Zhong-_

 _-he's more than just brawn: he's got brains too-_

"Shocking, coming the man who dated his best friend's brother." Alyssa drawled, "Or are you still dating Agent Nightwolf? You two have been on- again, off- again so many times it's hard to keep track."

Aguma looked startled, "How do you know that?"

"She's here tonight, or have you not noticed, Kronos?" Alyssa drawled. She held both of her hands up, and snapped her fingers.

Almost instantly, three people appeared in the spotlight with Alyssa.

"Agent Huntress," Alyssa drawled, "You all know her as Christina Cadelle, one of thieves of Team Blackheart."

Christina suddenly held up three wallets, "Who's missing one?"

It was instinct that Ryuga's hand went to his back pocket. Thankfully, he still had his wallet, but there were three muttered curses from somewhere in the crowd.

"Agent Nightwolf." Alyssa continued, "The leader and mastermind of Team Blackheart... Kuro Blackheart."

Ryuga would forever deny the shiver that went down his spine at the cold, unsettling look those black eyes gave him. He knew the stories about Kuro, how those who crossed her never saw the light of day again.

"And finally..." Alyssa's smirk was downright sinister, "Agent Vampress, grifter of Team Blackheart... the woman who moves from team to team... Jasmine Laize."

The final woman stepped forward, holding what looked like to be a purple pendant in her hands.

"The final reminder of parents lost." Jasmine drawled, tossing it into the air, before catching it again, "Such a shame I hold it in my hands now, isn't it... Dark Heart?"

A second spot light came on, this one on Agent Yami himself. His expression was one to behold: pure fury and betrayal.

And was it Ryuga's imagination, or were Dark Heart's eyes flickering between red and purple?

"You've been evil from the get- go." Agent Khione spoke, voice icy, "You play with people's feelings, learn their deepest secrets, use it to your advantage-"

Jasmine cut the woman off with a high pitched, merciless cackle that sent shivers down Ryuga's spine- _the second time tonight_ , the mastermind reflected.

"Violet, Violet, Violet... I'm a grifter! It's what we do!" Jasmine laughed, blood red eyes gleaming in pure, evil delight.

"Jasmine." Kuro spoke for the first time, and Jasmine instantly shut up, her smile fading, and the look on her face becoming one of... hatred? But why would-

"Here's the formal notice," Kuro's voice was dead serious, capturing everyone's immeadiate attention, "Team Blackheart is not on the side of good, for this battle. You all would do well to remember just who my team is made up of: the misfits of misfits, the outcasts of outcasts. You cast us out, even in the world of spies. You only call upon us whenever you know you can't get through a mission without extra help. Well, the joke's on you: we're _done_ being your plan 'B'. It's high time you guys learn that you can't just ask someone for something, and not be a little grateful for it."

The lights all went out, plunging the room into absolute darkness. There was a heavy silence over the room, before the lights came back on.

Team Blackheart and Alyssa were gone.

* * *

 **Ba- da- da! Hope this chapter was satisfactory! I actually wrote it last night- finished it after eleven, I should've been in bed by then, but I wasn't- but decided to wait until today to post it. Just like leaving you guys on the edge...**

 **Oh well... review?**


	9. Outcasts of Outcasts, Misfits of Misfits

"I can't tell if he's upset at the fact that his sister has gone dark side..." King frowned, "Or if he's upset that said sister got the upper hand on him in a fight."

Next to King, a silver haired man with dark purple eyes shrugged.

"If I had to guess..." The man trailed off, "He's just wondering where he went wrong. You know how Chris gets."

 _-Toby-_

 _-Grifter, Hacker, Team Dungeon-_

 _-one of the first, original members of Team Dungeon-_

"Broody, angry, moody..." King trailed off at the deadpan look Toby was giving him, "What?"

"You had _better_ hope he's so distracted he can't hear you." Toby deadpanned, "You know he _hates_ being called any of those things."

King shrugged, "Eh, I'm not too worried. If he wants to take a swing at me, let him! Might be good to let him work out some of those emotions anyways."

Toby, with an exasperated look on his face, watched as King turned and walked off. Toby turned back around to look across the hotel room, seeing Chris standing out on the balcony.

Toby sighed- it was either him, King, or Zeo to do this, and currently, the latter two probably wouldn't be much help. Inhaling deeply, Toby steeled his nerves and walked out on to the balcony.

* * *

"Where does the time go?" Chris muttered, when he heard the footsteps behind him.

"I... come again?" Toby asked, stepping up next to his leader.

"I remember when Christina was just a five year old girl filled with hope for the world." Chris chuckled a little, "She didn't even know what a spy was back then. Had no inkling to become one..."

"What changed that?" Toby asked.

Chris' face clouded over, "I... guess when I ran from home. I was... fifteen at the time. She was thirteen. I didn't like the way our parents kept pressuring me with my studies, both education wise and training wise. So I ran. Just ran. Didn't think about who and what I was leaving behind, didn't think of the consequences... I... Just dropped the ball and didn't look back. I... had always wanted to be a spy, but I wanted to train my way, y'know?"

Chris exhaled shakily.

"Two years later, I saw Christina in the middle of some spy competition. I was pretty shocked- I mean, the way she moved across the obstacles, how she handled the questions thrown at her in interrogation... It was obvious she was made for the spy world."

"So what happened?" Toby asked.

Chris sighed, "The top four of the competitions... they were split up into two groups. We were supposed to fight each other."

"You and Christina got paired up, didn't you?" Toby asked.

Chris grinned wryly, "Not at first."

* * *

 _-FLASHBACK-_

 _"Of the two teams, you both will fight each other. The winner that comes out from each match will then go against each other in final match. There will be no breaks, no time to catch your breath. A good spy knows that even a minute's rest could catch him the entire mission. Good luck, competitors!" The announcer's voice echoed through the high ceiling room, before cutting out._

 _Chris looked at his opponent, a tall broad man with greasy brown hair and cunning green eyes. Then he turned and looked on the other side of the room, to where his sister, Christina, stood, facing off a man twice her size, and looking at her too predatorially for Chris' liking._

 _Christina caught his eye, and scowled at him, before she turned back to her opponent._

 _There was a loud, sharp, shrill whistle blow, and Chris grunted as the first punch of many slammed into his gut._

 _'How does a guy his size move that fast?' Chris wondered, briefly, and then ducked as the next punch flew at his face. He dropped to the ground, twisting on his hands and slamming his feet into his enemy's chest._

 _The man went flying back, and Chris flipped up on to his feet, panting a little._

 _'This guy is heavy, but fast. Maybe... maybe if I keep him unbalanced, don't let him get his feet under him... I can take him out. Thing is... I'm not fast enough to do that- not light enough, and-' Chris cut off in his thoughts at a shout of rage on the other side of the room._

 _Chris turned, curiously and stared._

 _Christina's opponent was on his knees, holding his face with his hands. Blood poured out from under his hands. Chris' eyes flickered to Christina, and he saw blood on her hands._

 _'Did she...?' Chris gaped._

 _"You bitch!" Christina's opponent yelled, hands flying off his face and showing several deep gashes over his right eye, "You almost clawed my eye out!"_

 _Chris sweatdropped, 'She did..."_

 _Chris grunted as his own opponent slammed into him from the side, taking him down and wailing down on him with punch after punch. It was all Chris could do to defend himself._

 _"Show... you... how to... take a... real.. man... down..." Chris' opponent growled, "There isn't gonna be much left you when I'm done."_

 _Chris growled and struck out, catching the other man in the nose, and pushing him off of him._

 _Chris scrambled to his feet, panting. His arms ached from the punches he'd blocked, bloody from where the other's nails had scratched into his skin._

 _'Why the hell can't I be light on my feet?!' Chris thought with a scowl, 'I'm a thief sure, but not built like one! The closest person I know that is, is-'_

 _Chris cut off, and turned to his sister, who was moving nimbly out of the way of her opponent every time he attempted to grab her._

 _"Christina!" Chris shouted, and he moved quickly. Christina turned to him, looking annoyed and angry._

 _"What the hell do you want?" Christina bit out, angrily._

 _"Let's... let's team up." Chris panted, "Take them out together."_

 _"Yeah?" Christina cocked an eyebrow._

 _"Yeah." Chris nodded._

 _"No."_

 _"... what?"_

 _"You and I have done well on our own for the last two years- I'm sure you don't need my help for anything."_

 _"Is that what this is all about? You giving me the cold shoulder because I_ _ **left**_ _?!" Chris exclaimed._

 _"What the fuck do you think, you jackass?!" Christina swung out with her fist, clocking Chris across the jaw._

 _'Ow.' Chris thought, 'That actually hurt...'_

 _"YOU FUCKING LEFT ME BEHIND WITH MOM AND DAD!" Christina snarled, viciously, and Chris backed away from his sister, suddenly afraid of what else she would do if he didn't keep his distance, "YOU LEFT ME!"_

 _"I didn't want to be there- the pressure mom and dad put on me was too much!" Chris jumped back, dodging a kick-_

 _A set of arms grabbed Chris from behind, locking down tight on him and preventing him from moving. Christina froze in her advance, and her own opponent used her distraction to his advantage, grabbing her from behind as well._

 _"Wonderful situation you got us in, brother of mine." Christina deadpanned._

 _"Wha- me?!" Chris gaped._

 _"Yes, you, you dimwitted blonde!" Christina snapped, "I was doing just fine on my own, until you distracted me!"_

 _Chris didn't have an argument for that, since his sister was technically right..._

 _Chris sighed, dropping his head a little, "Alright, alright... I'm sorry."_

 _"... come again?"_

 _"I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry if it felt like I didn't care about you- I didn't bring you with me because I cared about you. I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Chris said._

 _"Oh, for god's sake, shut up!" One of the Cadelle sibling's opponent groaned, "Enough of this sappy stuff- let's take these brats out and get on with the match!"_

 _"Chris." Christina's voice made Chris look up. He jumped a little at the hardened look on her face, "Let's go with your plan- work together and take these numbskulls out."_

 _"One problem." Chris lifted his hand as much as he could and gestured to their situation, "We're trapped."_

 _"I'm about to fix that."_

 _"How are you gonna- OOF!" Christ got the wind knocked out of him as Christina lifted her feet and slammed them into his chest, knocking him and the man who held him back. The man's grip released, and Chris scrambled to his feet._

 _Christina had broken free of her own opponent's grip._

 _"Give a guy a warning next time, why don't you?!" Chris exclaimed, "You better not have broken any ribs..."_

 _"We'll discuss it later." Christina said, "Back to back?"_

 _The two fell back to back, facing their now pissed off opponents._

 _"So..." Christina said, blocking a punch to her face, and responding with a kick to the man's gut, "Mom and dad were putting too much pressure on you, huh?"_

 _"Yeah..." Chris dropped down, sweeping out at his opponent's feet. The man dodged, and Chris shot to his feet, "I keep saying it Christina, but I really am sorry I left you behind. If I had known you wanted to be a spy..."_

 _"I didn't want to... not until the last year." Christina sighed, "So... it's not your fault. I think I was just angry that you ran on me, and the reason I decided to be a spy was probably the fact I kept thinking I might see you again one day."_

 _"You never have given up on your dreams, huh?" Chris ducked a punch, then slammed his shoulder into his opponent's sternum, knocking the guy's breath out of his lungs. Chris delivered a strong right hook into the man's jaw, knocking him out._

 _Chris panted, and turned. He blinked as he found himself face to face with Christina._

 _"Glad we made up brother." Christina said, "Now there's one thing I have to say to you."_

 _"What?" Chris asked._

 _Christina smirked, "Checkmate."_

 _The last thing Chris saw was Christina's fist rushing at his face._

 _-END FLASHBACK-_

* * *

"We made up, but she knocked me flat on my ass." Chris chuckled.

"Lovely. So she qualified as a thief?" Toby asked.

"Small, quick, but strong. Pretty much, yeah." Chris nodded. Then he frowned, "Thing is... no team wanted a girl who was barely eighteen. They said she was too young, too tempermental. A... flight risk. Too much trouble, and-"

Chris cut off, eyes widening in realization as he recalled the words Kuro Blackheart had just spoken not even two hours before.

 _"The misfits of the misfits. The outcasts of the outcasts. You cast us out, even in the world of spies."_

"... Christina was too reckless to be on any team..." Chris' eyes went wider and wider with each second, "That's why she considers herself an outcast!"

"Uh... what?" Toby blinked.

"What Kuro was talking about- Toby, what room number is Bao staying in?" Chris asked, suddenly feeling rushed.

"Uh... Not sure-"

"Oh, nevermind, I can find out at the front desk!" Chris bolted off the balcony, through the hotel room, and into the hallway. The door slammed shut behind him.

 _What the hell just got into him?_ Toby wondered, truly bewildered.

* * *

"You know, normally I don't condone violence, but for you I will make an exception-" Bao threw open his hotel room door, ready to tear a new one out of who was disturbing his sleep, but he never got the chance.

"Why wasn't Kuro let on any team?" Chris asked.

Bao blinked, blearily, "It's midnight, and you're asking me a question like that when we should all be sleeping?"

"Just answer the question, Agent Hades." Chris said.

Bao sighed, "She was too smart and violent for her own good. She got into fights over the smallest thing, and when it came to revenge... well, she was pretty sadistic about it." Bao narrowed his eyes, "Why do you ask?"

Chris looked thoughtful, "Thank Bao. You just helped solve part of my theory."

Bao blinked as Chris turned and walked off down the hallway, "What theory?" Bao stepped out into the hallway, calling after the blonde, "Chris, _what theory_?!"

He never got an answer.


	10. I Got Friends On The Other Side

**I'm not feeling well today, so I stayed home from school. So I thought... why not use the day to write some? So here's this chapter.**

* * *

"How long have they been up?" Sophie blinked at the scene in the suite lounge.

Julian and Nero were both in the living area, Nero on the floor with his computer, and Julian standing in the center, a mess of papers and pictures pinned to a bulletin board.

"They never went to sleep." Wales shrugged.

"Some people shouldn't be allowed to drink coffee." Klaus said.

 _-Klaus-_

 _-hitter, Team Excalibur-_

 _-he's quiet and calm, but mess with his team and he'll turn deadly-_

"Especially coffee loving Italians." Wales muttered, "What are you two doing, anyways?"

"Something Chris told us last night. Or, rather, me." Nero called back, "He thinks the reason that Team Blackheart is on the wrong side is because-"

"They were either removed, or denied, from a position on a team." Julian finished, "Like with Christina, she was too reckless and young-"

"Kuro always got into fights and was too smart for her own good-" Nero spoke.

"Nefertiti, Nile's sister, knew everyone's deepest, darkest secrets and used it too many times to her advantage-"

"Kai Tategami grew up on the streets, loved the street fights too much that she was often too many times unable to fight or defend for her own team-"

"Jasmine moved from team to team after she brought them down."

"Don't you hate it when they do that?" Sophie asked. She, Wales, and Klaus were all sweatdropping at the brother's antics of finishing each other's sentences.

"I know I do." Klaus nodded.

"I can't remember if Luke and I ever did that, or even do that." Wales deadpanned.

There was a knock on the suite door, and Sophie turned for it, "I got it."

"So, what you're doing now is tracking down the teams who they got kicked off of or they were denied a position on?" Klaus asked.

"There's three more members on Team Blackheart, we just can't figure out who they are..." Nero frowned, trailing off in thought.

"I could probably tell you who." Everyone turned to see Lucas McKandless walking into the room, looking like he hadn't slept in a week, "Name number one to look up: Yasmina Laize."

There was plenty of _clickity- clack_ as Nero typed up the name, "Uh... older sister to Jasmine Laize, hitter, denied positions on seven teams and kicked off of four more... Ouch. Who's the other name?"

Julian was writing down the information Nero had listed off while Luke called out the next name.

"Ash Night, AKA, Agent Ember." Lucas said.

"Not much on her... except that she's grifter and mastermind, and put her resume in with one team and that team took her in just a week later." Nero said.

"Which team?" Julian asked, hand poised to write it down.

"Team Blackheart."

Julian quickly wrote that down while Lucas listed off the final name.

"Agent Medusa. No one knows her real name, just her code name."

"Heh, Medusa." Nero chuckled, "Wonder if she's from Europe, since she's got a name relating to- Oh, fuck no."

"Language." Julian said, "What's the problem?"

"Her file... well... she _has_ no file. Not one to speak of, at least. Not one for WWSA, FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, Interpol... there's no file on her!" Nero scowled, blue eyes blazing as he typed faster on his computer.

"Yikes." Julian gulped, watching his brother.

"Something wrong?" Luke asked, looking a little confused.

"If there's no information on something or someone... And Nero has hacked every system trying to find something about them and still doesn't... He gets..." Julian stepped past his brother carefully, making his way to get another cup of coffee, "Touchy, to put it lightly. He won't stop looking into that something or someone until he finds something, or you drag him away from the task."

"... yikes." Luke finally said. Julian nodded and took a long swallow of his coffee.

"We usually avoid him whenever something like this happens." Klaus said, "After all..."

"You never piss a Konzern off." Wales, Sophie, and Klaus said in sync. Luke sweatdropped, and an annoyed expression crossed Julian's face.

"Well, screw you too." Julian snorted.

"Didn't Tyler say that to Nero last night?" Sophie asked, a wolfish smirk on her face.

"Tyler did what?" Luke blinked.

Julian's hand clenched tightly around the mug of coffee in his hands, blue eyes narrowing sharply.

"Let's... not talk about that." Julian chose his words with extreme precision.

"No, I need to know." Luke narrowed his own eyes, "Tyler's got like, ten girls hanging off of him right now. He's a player."

Julian's eyebrow twitched, "Then it's a good thing I hid that number he tried to give Nero-"

"Whoops..." Wales pinched the bridge of his nose, "Nero had me lift it off of you during the party last night. I gave it to him..."

"Nero!" Julian barked.

"Wales!" Sophie exclaimed.

"Sorry!" Wales threw his hands up.

"Fuck off!" Nero snarled back.

"Just another day..." Klaus sighed.

"I'm glad I'm not on this team..." Lucas sweatdropped.

* * *

"Get down, Agent Demon." Kuro sighed in irritation, "You're not Kai. We can't afford to have you out of commission."

In the rafters, there was a whine, and then a thud next to Kuro. The black and silver haired mastermind turned, seeing a purple haired woman with red eyes.

 _-Yasmina Laize-_

 _-hitter, Team Blackheart-_

 _-more responsible, older sister of Jasmine Laize-_

"You take the fun out of everything, Kuro." Yasmina said, dryly.

"We can't afford to have fun right now, and you know it." Kuro said, turning and walking down the hallway, her combat boots thumping on the stone floors.

"So says you." Kuro hardly blinked as Jasmine appeared on her left. She tossed a purple pendant up and down in her hands, "Grifters make fun, you know."

Kuro waited precisely five seconds, before she snatched the pendant out of Jasmine's hands in mid- toss.

"Hey!" Jasmine exclaimed, "Give that back!"

"It's not yours now. It's mine." Kuro pocketed the pendant, "You broke protocol anyways, showing yourself off to Dark Heart like that. What would have happened if you got close enough to him?"

"Something." Jasmine scowled.

"You'd be dead or in a hospital right now." Yasmina snorted.

"Whose side are you on?"

"Right now?" Yasmina looked away, "The side we're all on. The side we don't want to be on."

"Speak for yourself." Kuro turned as Christina came into view, stepping out of the shadows, "Medusa wants to see us. She says she's got some information for us."

* * *

"Whatcha got for us, Medusa?" Kuro asked, stepping into the hacker's room.

"Nero, is what I got." Medusa replied, a bit emotionlessly, "He's running a search on all of us, getting select information."

"Which is what?" Jasmine stepped over to the agent and looking over their shoulder at the computer screens.

"... the reasons we are who we are." Medusa said.

"You mean...?" Christina trailed off, "The teams that denied us or kicked us off?"

Medusa nodded, "Well, technically, you guys. I've never been on a team, except for this one..."

"We know."

This time, Kuro did jump at the voice the came from her left. A woman just a few inches shorter than her appeared on her left, hair as black as night and eyes a red- orange color.

 _-Ash Night-_

 _-Grifter, Mastermind, Team Blackheart-_

 _-Team Blackheart is the only family she's ever known-_

"Ash..." Kuro pinched the bridge of her nose, "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"

"Sorry, boss." Ash said, with no emotion, "I'll try to make sure you know I'm there next time."

"As you've said the last five hundred times." Jasmine hummed.

"Are you actually keeping count?" Yasmina asked.

"Ha- no." Jasmine deadpanned, "I'd be crazy if I did."

Kuro shared a look with Christina.

 _Like Jasmine isn't already crazy?_ Christina raised an eyebrow.

Kuro shook her head a little, closing her eyes, _Just let her be her..._

Kuro let her team mates talk, her thoughts tuning them out.

 _Most people would assume Christina's the wild cannon, what with her reckless temper and all,_ Kuro mused. _But they couldn't be further from the truth. It's Jasmine you have to look out for: she's insane, tempermental, never has been good with following orders except from Yasmina..._

Kuro sighed, a puff of air escaping her mouth.

 _Trying to keep Jasmine in control is like keeping a pair of alpha dogs from ripping each other's throats out..._

"Did ya hear me, Kuro?" Kuro snapped out of her thoughts at Medusa's voice.

"Uh, no. Sorry. I was thinking." Kuro said, "What was that?"

"I said, Nero just ran a search on me." Medusa said.

Kuro blinked, and was silent for a moment, before saying, "So? You're better than any hacker in the world. You've erased basically you're existence except those who have dealt with you. Why's that an issue?"

"He'll recruit the best hacker in the world to help him find any information on Agent Medusa." Medusa said.

"You mean... he'll recruit you?" Yasmina asked.

"Well... by my real name. Remember, he doesn't know I'm on your team. I'm not on any team, as far as he's concerned. I'm just..." Here, Medusa's face clouded over a little, her voice becoming misty, "Out there."

"... you have a plan, weather or not I say yes to letting you go when he calls, don't you?" Kuro asked.

"Yep."

Kuro sighed.


	11. The Black Queen

"You look like hell." Jack said, blinking as Damian trudged into the rec room.

"You try going ten rounds with the boss in the mood he's in." Damian snapped back, collapsing on the couch, "I swear, it wasn't just him I went against... I think Yami made an appearance once or twice..."

"You're lucky he didn't kill you then." Jack said, setting his paintbrush down. He wiped his hands off and walked into the adjoining kitchen.

"Tell me about it..." Damian groaned, "Who knew that the appearance of an ex girlfriend could do that to a man?"

"Remember what Jas- eh, Agent Vampress did?" Jack asked, coming back into the rec room. He walked over to the couch, and dropped the ice pack in his hands on Damian's neck.

The bluenette yelped, "Cold!" But he snatched it up and put it to his swollen eye, "And yeah, I remember. Took the money and ran- took boss's heart with her too."

Jack sat back down on his couch, picking his paintbrush back up. He frowned at his current work.

"But did you notice Agent Khione?" Jack asked, "Looked to me like she showed some interest in Dark Heart..."

"We are not playing matchmaker, Jack." Damian lifted his head, eyes burning, "Remember how that played out last time? One word: Jasmine. I swear he still hates us for that."

"Probably... but would it hurt to try one more time?" Jack asked, looking around his easel.

"Yes." Damian deadpanned.

Jack sighed, "Why do you have to take the fun out of everything?"

Damian's voice was muffled when he answered.

"Because I don't have a death wish."

* * *

Ryuto ducked the punch headed his way, shifting his feet and gliding back behind his opponent. He slammed his palm into the back of their neck, and then kicked their legs out from under them.

Helios went down with a grunt.

Ryuto grinned, chest heaving, "Not bad. I got you down faster that time."

Helios flashed the younger Katashi a smirk as he pushed himself to his feet, "I'll say. Stick with your training regimen, and you could be a hitter in no time."

"I prefer to be a thief. You know I only use violence when necessary." Ryuto sighed.

"Didn't you qualify as both though, in your exam?" Kakeru asked from across the room.

"I had a higher score for becoming a thief." Ryuto shrugged.

Kakeru clicked away on his computer, "Your thief scores and hitter scores were tied."

Ryuto blinked, before shouting, "STOP HACKING MY FILE, TATEGAMI!"

Kakeru threw his hands up, "Well, you weren't saying anything! And can you blame me for being curious?"

"Curiousity killed the cat." Kenta said, walking behind the couch Kakeru was sprawled out on.

Kakeru typed something on his computer, "Your grifter scores were the highest of your class, Kenta. The second highest was... hitter. Sorry to tell you, but you don't seem like the violent type-"

Kakeru yelped as Kenta slammed the top of his laptop down on his hands.

"Look up another one of your team member's scores, and you'll just how violent I can really be." Kenta said, his voice low.

Ryuto sweatdropped. Kakeru laughed, nervously. Helios rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay... I'll stop now." Kakeru said.

"Good." Kenta leaned back up and walked away.

Kakeru whipped open his computer, fingers flying over the keyboard, before a _PING!_ interrupted his typing. He frowned and opened the message. He blinked a few times, before he sighed.

"Hey Kenta!" Kakeru called.

"What?" The young man called back.

"Where's Ryuga?"

"In his office, probably. If not there, he's gone out for a while. Why?"

Kenta was met with the door slamming shut.

"Kakeru?" Kenta's head appeared around the door frame, but the younger Tategami was no where in sight. Kenta sighed, "Damn it."

* * *

"What do you want, Tategami?" Ryuga asked as Kakeru walked into his office.

"I need your permission for something." Kakeru said, shifting on his feet, looking nervously.

"What?" Ryuga snapped, "Come on, out with it, I don't have all day."

"Nero Konzern has called me to Italy for a hacker- only mission." Kakeru said, quickly.

Ryuga blinked, and lifted his head, "Hackers only?"

Kakeru nodded, still looking nervous.

"Go." Ryuga snapped his fingers, "Try to be back within the week. I have a couple of jobs lined up that you'll be the center of."

"Wait... you're letting me go?" Kakeru blinked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Ryuga cocked an eyebrow.

"I mean... with everything that's going on-"

"Do you want me to change my mind?" Ryuga asked, annoyed.

"No."

"Then _go_." Ryuga commanded.

Kakeru had never moved faster in his life than he had then.

Ryuga huffed, frowning.

 _How is it that Kakeru is so much more tolerable than his brother... and he's a Tategami?_

* * *

Kakeru had never done well with flying- he hated heights, and as a result, hated flying. It felt like his stomach was in his mouth, his heart was beating too fast, he was going into cardiac arrest-

 _Breathe, Kakeru._ Kakeru exhaled, forcefully, _A panic attack in the middle of your flight will not turn out well._

"Nervous flier?" Kakeru blinked, and turned to look on his left, where a young teenage girl sat, blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You could... say that." Kakeru chuckled, nervously, "I just like having my feet on the ground. I want something solid under me."

"I understand." The girl laughed, "One of my older brothers is the same way- or at least, I assume he still is. It's been years since I've seen him. I'm meeting up with him, that's why I'm flying to Italy."

Kakeru offered the girl a small smile, "Older brothers, huh? I got two older siblings: a brother and sister"

"Are they twins?" The girl asked.

"God, no." Kakeru laughed, openly, "If they were, it'd be a nightmare."

"I see." The girl smiled, then held out her hand, "My name's Julia. What's yours?"

"Kakeru." Kakeru shook her hand. He blinked at the ring on her hand, realizing that the crest was familiar...

"Helluva time to be going back to the Konzern mansion." Kakeru chuckled, releasing Julia's hand, "We're having a spy hacker meeting tomorrow."

"Funny, I'm gonna be a part of it." Julia smirked, the look almost exactly like one of Julian's, "I'm a hacker myself."

Kakeru blinked, then grinned, slowly, "Really?"

"Really." Julian said, her eyes shining.

"What team you on?" Kakeru asked.

"I'm..." Julia looked nervous, "I'm not... on a team. I'm just... out there, you know?"

"Really?" Kakeru asked, then chuckled, "You know, if you wanted a spot on a team, Team Outlaw always has a spot open. Oh, and maybe Team Dame too, but you don't want to be around the neutral team. They're... eccentric, to put it lightly."

"Team Outlaw... is that your team?" Julia asked, curiously.

"It is." Kakeru nodded, "I'm the hacker for that team. And I'm telling you now, there's never a dull moment with us."

"Both Katashi's, a Tategami, Helios, and Yumiya?" Julia chuckled, "I can believe it."

"How did you-" Kakeru startled.

"Just because I'm not _on_ a team... doesn't mean I don't know who is and isn't on teams." Julia smirked again.

Kakeru blinked, then sweatdropped, "Touche..."

For the rest of the flight, while sitting next to Julia Konzern, Kakeru didn't think once about being on a plane, or his fear of heights.

* * *

"Wow..." Tyler breathed, looking up at the chandelier hanging in the front parlor, "Talk about not holding back on your personal image..."

"Glad you like it, Agent TKO." Julian said, stiffly, with eyes narrowed on the black haired agent.

"Aw, are you still tore up over the fact I've taken an interest in your dear, sweet, innocent little brother?" Tyler asked, a small pout on his lips.

"Stay away from him, or you'll have an enemy in me." Julian threatened.

"I'll stay away from him," Tyler purred, "But the question is: will Nero stay away from me?"

Julian's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't answer.

* * *

"Julia, man it's been too long!" Nero all but tackled his sister in a hug.

Julia stiffened, and said in a voice that was forced, "It's good to see you, Nero. Where's..." Julia cleared her throat, "Where's Julian?"

"Off threatening Tyler, perhaps?" Kakeru smirked, and Nero scowled at him, "Come on, everyone knows about that little scene with your brother and Tyler at the convention."

"Uh... what are we talking about?" A dark skinned man asked, voice meekly.

 _-Demure-_

 _-hacker, team Wild Fang-_

 _-keenest of sight, notices the small details in codes and encryptions-_

"I forget my brother isn't big when it comes to juicy gossip." Kakeru sweatdropped. "Demure, you sure you wanna know?"

"No, he doesn't. Come on, we're going to get started. Follow me to the library." Nero said, and he turned on his heel, walking off and leaving the others to scramble and catch up.

* * *

"We're looking for Team Blackheart's _Agent Medusa_?" Madoka demanded, "Everyone in the spy world knows they're unbeatable when it comes to a hack job! Not a single one of us here could out hack them if we ever came across them!"

"I know, it seems impossible." Nero sighed, "But hear me out- I think they're keeping tabs on every keystroke we make. Which means they're somehow blocking us whenever even one of us looks them up. So if we all work at the same time to find some information on them..." Nero trailed off, hoping someone would understand where he was going with this.

"They can't outhack all of us at once." A man with light brown hair said, cobalt blue eyes flickering in realization.

 _-Dan Sodo-_

 _-hacker, Team Koma-_

 _-twin brother to Koma's hitter, Reiki-_

Nero grinned, "You understand me perfectly. So, are you with me or not? The more information we find on Team Blackheart, after all, the more likely we are to be able to take them down."

"I'm in." Toby said, flipping open his laptop, "Do we get started now, or...?"

Nero sat down at his own chair, "We get started now. On my count."

The group of hackers all readied themselves, fingers tingling with anticipation.

"Three...

"Two...

"... now."

* * *

Agent Medusa growled to themselves, suddenly overwhelmed.

 _Gonna try to get the best of me, huh?_ Medusa thought, _Alright then, I'll take you all on. Let's do this._

* * *

"Damn it!" Toby swore, angrily, "My computer's locked up, and- AH! What the hell is that?!"

Nero was on his feet and looking over Toby's shoulder. He eyed the woman's head with yellow eyes and snake hair for a moment, before smirking, "Medusa's on to us. She's trying to keep us beat back. C'mon, let's keep this up!"

* * *

Medusa frowned, murmuring, "Oh, nicely played, Konzern... nicely played... Now, see if you can beat this..."

* * *

Nero froze in shock as his computer went black, "No... way."

"Am... I the only one whose computer just crashed?" Tyler asked.

"Nope." Came a chorus of answers.

Well... from all but one.

* * *

"Have fun getting out of the wormhole!" Medusa laughed, standing up, "No one can beat the Black Queen!"

There was dead silence for all of a moment, before one person reacted first.

" _Julia_?!" Nero screeched, " _ **You're**_ _Agent Medusa?!_ "

"Checkmate, brother of mine." Julia Konzern drawled, her eyes suddenly cold and emotionless. She typed a few keys on her computer, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.

"Son of a bitch-" Tyler swore.

There was the sound of fast moving feet, a loud scramble, keys typing away, and then the lights were back on.

Julia was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

 **YES! I have finally revealed the mysterious Medusa's true identity!**

 **Leave a review!**


	12. Out Of Luck

Nero felt the whiskey burn at the back of his throat, but he didn't care. Rather, he welcomed it.

Nero knew he was stubborn- that he denied a lot of things. But even the most stubborn person couldn't deny what had happened just hours before.

The next shot of whiskey went down Nero's throat, but it didn't push the memory away.

* * *

 _"There has to be some mistake! Maybe- maybe she's just playing a trick on us, or- or something." Nero had his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest, sulking on the couch, "Julia would never do something like this."_

 _"We thought the same thing about Julian six years ago, before he went evil." Wales deadpanned._

 _Nero snarled at him, and Julian scowled at Wales._

 _"Don't get defensive when I'm stating the facts." Wales shrugged._

 _"Nero... she was right there... She caused the lights in the entire house to go out, and then she ran!" Sophie pointed out, "You can't really deny that."_

 _Nero's jaw clenched, before he stood up sharply._

 _"Where are you going, Nero?" Julian sighed._

 _"To my bar! Maybe I'll get drunk enough to convince myself that this is all some giant nightmare." Nero snapped back._

 _The door slammed shut behind him._

* * *

That had been almost four hours ago. And Nero still remembered every single detail- from where Julia had stood up and announced she was Medusa, to when the lights had gone out, come back on, and the girl was nowhere to be seen.

 _Sixteen years old..._ Nero thought, _Sixteen years old and can outsmart me... Kakeru... almost every hacker I know..._ Nero frowned, _I wouldn't put it past her to be able to outsmart even Julian..._

Nero blinked as someone slid into the stool next to him.

"Wales...?" Nero blinked hard, "What are you doing here?"

"To make sure you don't drink yourself into a coma." Wales snatched the shot glass making it's way to Nero's mouth, and downed it himself, before setting it back down on the wood counter with a decisive _CLINK!_

Nero scowled at him, "That was mine."

"Mine now." Wales shot back, before sighing, "Julia's appearance here was a ploy, Nero."

Nero blinked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Some of the other teams were attacked, some of the members kidnapped, others hospitalized. They struck while all the hackers were here, in Italy. They were able to get past their security systems, walk right in, and cause some pretty bad damage." Wales said.

Nero stared at him, before turning away and swallowing audibly, "... tell me. What happened to each team?"

Wales grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured himself a shot. He picked it up, studying the amber liquid in the glass, before he threw it down his throat.

"Agent Ares is hospitalized- broken ribs, internal bleeding, shattered leg, and concussion." Wales started, "Agent Quetzalcoatl, ambushed on a mission and both his hands were broken- stomped on. From what Agent Zeus says, the doctors say he'll be lucky if he can even move his fingers again."

Nero rubbed his hands over face, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Agent Player... he's out of complete commission- he disappeared in the middle of a mission. Agent Aquario, she's on her way back to see if she can help with finding him. Agent Justice was kidnapped, and Agent Eagle hospitalized with some bad fractures to his left leg and a few broken ribs." Wales continued.

Nero pinched the bridge of his nose and held on for dear life.

"Agent Tron from Team Koma... he's gone too. Disappeared, kidnapped... whatever you wanna call it." Wales shrugged.

Nero waited a long moment, before saying, "You haven't named off anyone from Outlaw, Wild Fang, Dame, or Snowdrift."

"Wild Fang wasn't hit, and niether was Dame." Wales poured another shot, "Outlaw... Agent Omega's gone too. And Agent Alpha is on a rampage."

"... Snowdrift?" Nero asked.

Wales' grip on his glass tightened, before he tossed it down his throat, "Luke's been kidnapped."

Nero then realized just why Wales was so tense. His brother was missing, he wasn't- probably couldn't get there- anywhere near his brother's last known location, to help look for him.

It must've been driving Wales insane.

Nero sighed, "I'm sorry. If I hadn't called this stupid meeting into play... if I didn't want to find out even the tiniest bit of information on _my own damn sister._..."

Nero crossed his arms on top of the bar counter and let his head fall on to his arms, "I'm so... fucking... sorry."

Wales sighed, "It's not your fault. For all we know, Team Blackheart has been planning this for weeks..."

Nero jerked as Wales' phone rang. Wales frowned as he pulled it out of his pocket. Barely glancing at the Caller ID, he answered with a snappy, "What?"

Nero watched as Wales' frown deepened, before he said, "I see... Nero and I are on our way back now."

Wales hung up, and then drank his shot full of whiskey and set the glass back down.

"What's wrong now?" Nero sighed.

"Agent Pegasus, Gingka Hagane..." Wales sighed, and stood up, "He's in a coma. That's four of the five members on Team GanGan Galaxy that are out of commission."

* * *

 ***evil smile* I'm evil, and I won't be able to update again till maybe Monday. Sorry to leave you on such a cliffhanger- not.**

 **Leave a review!**


	13. Wanna Play? Careful What You Wish For

**I'm ba- ack!**

* * *

" _Agent Hades, report your progress._ " Agent Storm's voice crackled over Bao's ear piece.

"Nearly to my destination, Da Xiang." Bao replied, slithering around the corner of the air duct, "You think we might be lucky and Chao Xin will be here?"

" _Has he been at any of the last five locations we've looked_?" Aguma's voice was dry as he spoke.

" _Wishful thinking, Bao_." Agent Salamander said, " _We all hope that he's at any location we check when we get a lead, but so far..._ "

"Yeah, I know." Bao sighed, "He's probably directly with the enemy."

Bao mentally went through the floor plan of the building he was in, a building that was owned by Caspian McKandless, and turned one more corner. He peeked through the grate he was over, before muttering, "Going into the belly of the beast. I'll report every five minutes. At seven, start asking. At ten... send someone in."

" _Hear you loud and clear_." Da Xiang said.

" _Be careful, Bao_." Aguma warned.

" _I'll try to track you by camera_." Agent Aquario said, " _But this system is tough, thanks to Julia._ "

Bao let out a hum, and pulled the grate open. He dropped his feet in first, then jumped, the grate closing after him as he fell to the floor below.

Bao glanced around him. The room he was in, an office, was dark, lit only by a single lamp in the corner, next to the door. Bao stood up slowly, checking to make sure he had his knife on him, before taking a slow, careful step to the door.

He barely made a sound.

But so did the person who managed to sneak up on him.

Bao whipped around, a gasp on his lips, just as the vase his assailant held came crashing down on his head.

The darkness consumed him.

* * *

"What do you want with us, Doji?" Kuro sighed, arms crossed over her chest, as she watched said man pace in front of her and her team.

Doji's eyes flickered up to look over the group of girls, before they landed on Kuro.

Kuro swallowed at the predatory look in his eyes.

"Tell me, Agent Nightwolf." Doji purred, "When I ordered your team to take out some of those agents under WWSA... I gave it to them privately."

"Your point?" Kuro asked, scowling.

Doji snapped his fingers, and the door on the other side of the room opened. Agent Lynx and Agent Venom came in, dragging in someone between them. Someone who was struggling vicously, but unable to get away, due to his hands being tied behind him. He was quiet, only because of the gag around his mouth-

" _Bao?!_ " Kuro's screech deafened the entire room.

Lynx and Venom moved Kuro's brother to where he was kneeling in the middle of the room, facing Kuro. Bao's gold eyes were ablaze with fury and hatred. To whom it was directed at, Kuro really didn't have any idea.

"Ask away, Kuro... who was it supposed to be?" Doji drawled.

Kuro whipped on her team, barking, "Start talking!"

Her team of seven were quiet, all looking down and shuffling their feet. Kuro growled, and one of them yelped, diving behind the nearest person.

Ash Night stepped out of the way, and Christina's eyes were wide as she stared at her leader.

"I- I'm sorry K- Kuro!" Christina stammered, "I- I just couldn't do it! I- I didn't want to do it, because it- it's your brother, a- and-"

"Then, why the _fuck_ didn't you come to me?!" Kuro snarled, "I would've taken care of it!"

Bao made an affronted noise. Kuro ignored it, the best she could.

"Kuro, you have a choice to make." Kuro turned to Doji when he spoke, "Your agent suffers, or we choose what happens... What will it be?"

Kuro stared at him.

Let Christina suffer some sort of punishment for her failure to complete her assignment? No. Kuro couldn't do that. Let Doji chose what would happen? If Kuro was lucky, it would be her to get the punishment, and Kuro could take it- she was strong. She would never let anything happen to those closest to her...

Kuro huffed, "Do what you want."

"Perfect." Doji smirked, and snapped his fingers.

The door opened again, and Kuro felt the color drain out of her face.

"You're supposed to be in jail..." Kuro whispered.

"I escaped." The tall, pale man smirked. He moved up behind Bao, who looked confused, but couldn't look-

The man threaded his hands through Bao's hair and yanked his head back. Bao let out a muffled yelp, before letting out another muffled scream- this one of a mix of shock and fear.

"Thought you'd never see me again, did you Agent Hades?" The man drawled.

"Agent Scourge..." Doji started, but cut off when he got a glare from the man.

Bao struggled, fear radiating off of him.

"Don't try it, _Agent_." Scourge hissed, hands tightening. Bao whimpered.

"You have a few lessons to learn- and I'm going to have _fun_ making sure you get it through your head." Scourge chuckled a little, "Well... fun for me. Maybe not for you."

Kuro blinked, then narrowed her eyes.

"You'll keep your hands off of him." Kuro hissed, taking a step forward. However, someone grabbed her from behind.

"Don't, Kuro." Agent Witch hissed, "You can't-"

 _-Nefertiti Storm-_

 _-Grifter, Team Blackheart-_

 _-older sister to Nile Storm-_

"Fuck off, Nefertiti!" Kuro snarled, and struggled to break free. She would've gotten free, had Kai and Ash not grabbed her.

"Listen to me, and listen well." Kuro stopped struggling when Doji grabbed her by the jaw. His face was serious, deadly, and sly, "You work for _us._ We order you to do something, you do it. We promised not to hurt those you and your team, since you're helping us-"

"That deal just went out the window unless you let my brother go." Kuro snarled.

Doji's lips curled up into a cruel smirk, "You said it yourself, just now. We could do whatever we want as punishment."

Kuro's blood ran cold, eyes widening.

"Your punishment is this: Knowing you're at fault for what your brother is about to go through." Doji said, and he let Kuro go.

Kuro swallowed. Doji turned and nodded at Agent Scourge, who smirked and hauled Bao to his feet by his hair, "Let's go... _pet_. You're mine now."

Bao let loose into a new struggle, kicking and squirming. Somehow, he managed to get the gag off his face, and Kuro had to force herself not to cry and scream herself at the words that assaulted her ears.

" _KURO! KURO, HELP...! DON'T LET HIM- KURO! KURO!_ _ **KURO**_ _!_ "

Kuro felt herself slip to her knees, her eyes burning with unshed tears. Her team mate's arms stayed around her, keeping her in place.

For the first time in nearly fifteen years, Kuro felt truly and undenailably weak.

* * *

"I'm crazy- I'm not crazy enough to try and calm her down." Jasmine stated, wincing when a loud crash resounded from Kuro's room, followed by a scream of rage, anger, and pain.

"You're the only person crazy enough to try, though. Hell, you _dated_ fucking Dark Heart!" Ash snorted, "He's the one with the split personality! His second one is the one that's a fucking psychopath. How did you even _handle_ it?"

"Oh, well, screw you too, Ash." Jasmine scowled, crossing her arms and glaring, "Not everyone can get-" Jasmine cut off as Kuro threw her door open.

Each of the girls crowded against the wall, as the fury on Kuro's face was enough to send even the strongest willed person.

"... Kuro?" Yasmina squeaked, "Um... you... are you... okay?"

"Fuck them." Kuro hissed, venomously. The team flinched at her tone, "We're leaving."

"Uh... what?" Nefertiti asked.

"They've started a war." Kuro growled, and it was like she wasn't even paying attention to her team. Her eyes were cold, dark, and full of fire, "If they want to play hardball... we'll play hardball."

* * *

 **Who wants to take a guess as to who Agent Scourge is? *smirk* Hint: I envision him to have personal vendetta against Bao because of something said redhead did.**

 **Bao: ... I fucking hate you.**

 **Me: *puts shades on* Deal with it. I'm evil. *turns to readers* Leave a review!**


	14. Arrangements

_THWACK!_

 _CRACK!_

 _SNAP!_

The whip fell to the floor with a clatter, and heavy footsteps circled their victim.

"Having fun yet, _son_?"

Luke kept his eyes shut, squeezing them tight enough for tears to escape from the corner of his eyes.

 _No, let me go!_ Luke wanted to say, but it would be fruitless to ask, or to beg, or to even utter a word.

Luke flinched as a hand grabbed his jaw and brought it up. Fingers dug into his cheeks and jawline.

"Open your eyes, and answer me." Caspian McKandless' voice was low and dangerous.

Luke tried to pull out of his father's grip, but the man only tightened his hold. Luke finally opened his eyes.

Caspian smirked at the fear in his youngest son's eyes, "No need to speak... Your face says enough about how you-"

"Go to hell." Luke suddenly croaked, his voice dry and scratchy from lack of water and all the screaming he had done.

Caspian went still, his icy eyes flashing in obvious rage.

"What... did you say?" He asked, quietly.

Luke flinched again, regretting opening his mouth.

"Let's see if you're talking back after _this_." Caspian hissed, and he drew a knife. For a split second, Luke wondered if Caspian would just go ahead and kill him.

Instead, Caspian flicked the knife through the ropes holding Luke's arms to the ceiling. Luke went crashing to the floor. He didn't have long to wonder what was going on, as Caspian grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to the bed in the corner of the room.

White hot fear struck Luke in the gut, and he screamed, " _NO_!"

Lucas struggled, kicking and reaching his arms up to claw at Caspian's arm, trying to get him to let him go, "Please...! No, please!"

"Keep crying all you want." Caspian hissed, and lifted Luke up slam his head into the wall nearest him, "It's not going to change the fact of what I'm going to do to you."

Luke's vision had gone fuzzy, his ears ringing from the blow to the wall. His legs fell out from under him, and, not for the first time in his life, Luke wished for death.

It certainly would've been kinder.

* * *

Ryo blinked at the nurse, "Come again?"

"We're sorry sir, but someone came and checked out your son, earlier this week. They said they were transfering him to a different hospital, under your order." The nurse said, a little nervously, "They had the paperwork and everything. It's not like we couldn't say no to it."

Ryo felt his eyebrow twitch as he pulled out his phone. He unlocked the screen, then pulled up his photos, "Was it any of these men?"

The nurse looked, then shook her head, "No, sir."

Ryo pulled up another, "Any of these women?"

The nurse looked again, and shook her head again, "No, sir. I'm afraid not."

Ryo put his phone away, tamping down his fear, "Could you describe who it was that took my son out of the hospital?"

"Certainly- a tall man, pale skin, short black hair, and he wore a black suit. I couldn't see his eyes, however. They were covered by a dark pair of sunglasses, I'm afraid. He was polite, but he did give off a... creepy, vibe." The nurse said.

Ryo froze, eyes widening.

 _Could it be...?_ He wondered, _No... we locked him away in a hole then threw that away. No one but myself, Agent DeeJay, and Agent Alloy knows where he is..._

Ryo, with his mouth dry, pulled out his phone again, and brought up a picture. He showed it to the nurse, "Was this the man?"

The woman looked, then nodded, "Yes, sir. That was him."

Ryo felt numb. He turned, almost automatically, and walked out of the hospital.

* * *

"Hello, love."

Dark Heart jumped half out his skin, a knife appearing in his hand and rushing for the source of the voice that had startled him.

There was movement, and the knife embedded itself in the wall.

There was a huff of exasperation, "Seriously, sis? Why'd you have to scare him?"

Dark Heart stared as two figures stepped out of the shadows beside his office door. One, he didn't even recognize. The other, however...

Jasmine barely flinched as Dark Heart drew a gun, pointing it at her. His face was devoid of any emotion, his eyes flickering back and forth between red and purple.

"Give me one good reason." He said, voice low.

"You hate guns- can't handle them because they remind you of what happened to your parents." Jasmine stated, matter of factly, "And I shall return that pendant thingy your mom left you, just as soon as I manage to get it off of Kuro. In the meantime, you should put that thing down and let us talk. We have an offer to make you."

Next to Jasmine, her sister facepalmed. She looked completely and utterly done.

Dark Heart narrowed his eyes at Jasmine, and slowly set the gun down on to his desk. He then pulled a knife out from the sheath strapped to the underside of his desk. He played with it, letting Jasmine see it.

Jasmine cocked an eyebrow, but kept her eyes on the blade.

"How did you get past my security system?" Dark Heart asked.

"Julia." Yasmina said, interrupting whatever Jasmine was going to say.

"My team?"

"They're out of the building. You need to keep a better eye on them, or at least know where they are every minute." Yasmina answered.

"We're a neutral team- we do what we want, until _I_ think we need to interfere with a certain situation." Dark Heart's eyes were on Jasmine, who was looking around his office.

 _Kill her..._ A deeper voice whispered in the back of Dark Heart's mind, _She deserves a slow, painful death..._

Jasmine walked to the far wall, and yanked the knife out of it. She studied it for a split second, before picking her nails with it.

"Well, this situation isn't one you can debate on." Yasmina stated, "Weather you like it or not, we're recruiting your team to help us take out Caspian McKandless."

Dark Heart blinked, "Come again? Aren't you working with him?"

"Not anymore." Jasmine chirped, flipping the knife in her hands, "Not after what he did to Kuro."

 _She has a weapon... she could use it at any moment... Kill her already!_

It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on Yasmina. To not listen to the voices in his head.

Dark Heart pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly and forcing the feeling of calm through his body.

"Out, out, out!"

Dark Heart looked up to see Yasmina pushing her sister out of the room, slamming the door on her.

Yasmina turned to Dark Heart, a tight smile on her face, "We're alone. Care to talk now, without the bitch from hell present?"

Dark Heart laid the knife down on his desk, so it was visible to Yasmina, a silent message. He sat back in his chair, and watched Yasmina. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm listening."

* * *

"Rago Black escaped from prison."

Ryo stared at the person who sat on his desk.

"Agent Nightwolf." He stated, slowly, "What are you talking about?"

"He's working with Caspian McKandless now." Kuro's eyes were completely full of rage, her face blank of any emotion.

"And you're here because...?"

"I need help."

"You work with Caspian. What makes you think anyone under the WWSA will help you-"

"Have you been in contact with Team Wang Hu Zhong recently?"

Ryo blinked, then shook his head, "No. I'm afraid not. I've been in the hospital for the last week, with my son, who's comatose thanks to whichever team member of yours struck him down."

"My apologies. That was me." Kuro said.

Ryo blinked, not expecting that confession.

"Back to why I'm here: Rago Black escaped from his Grade- A level prison, and my brother is in his hands."

"Bao?" Ryo asked, "When did-"

"Hence, why I asked you if you had spoken to Wang Hu Zhong recently." Kuro deadpanned, then stood and jumped off of Ryo's desk, "Rago has my brother. He's doing something to him, something I really don't want to think about. He said it would be his punishment for whatever he did to him during his time as an ally with Project Nemesis." Kuro's voice wavered, "I... I don't what happened, and I would like to know. Because what Rago said, what he insinuated... I can only imagine it's something horrible."

Ryo eyed Kuro for a long moment, moving around her and sitting down at his own desk, "My son was kidnapped, while comatose, by Rago, just yesterday. Do you know anything about that?"

Kuro blinked, obviously surprised, "No. I don't."

"You know where Caspian is, don't you?" Ryo asked.

"Yes, I do."

Ryo leaned back in his chair, "The layout of his building? How many people are there and when they're there?"

"Of course. Julia is always keeping an eye on that area of the system. Christina knows the layout like the back of her hand."

"Then you help me get our kidnapped friends back," Ryo said, eyes turning to a dark shade of amber, "And I'll help you get your brother back, Kuro Blackheart."

Ryo held out his hand for Kuro to shake. Kuro stared at it for a long moment, debating Ryo's words. Finally, she took Ryo's hand and shook it.

"Deal."

* * *

"Ziggurat, my friend, are you sure this will work?" Doji asked, looking back and forth between the hacker and the room on the other side of the glass.

"My arrangement system is state of the art, Doji. Do you doubt me?" Ziggurat peered at the man over his glasses.

"No." Doji said, "But a comatose person... You've never tried this before. There's no garuntee this will work."

"The worse that could happen is that he'll die. If he does- good riddance! One less WWSA agent we have to deal with. But if it does work, his personality will be completely altered, and he'll be ours to control, to order. He will be evil, and no one, except us of course, will be able to change that."

Doji smirked, "Then please... let's begin."

Ziggurat pressed a few keys on the control panel, flipped a switch, and then stood back. A female, mechanical voice filled the room.

" _Initiating, Operation Arrangement. Patient,_ " The machine seemed to pause.

" _Gingka Hagane._ "

* * *

 **Review?**


	15. Just Give Me Death

**WARNING: Graphic depictions of torture, which is why the rating of this story is going up.**

* * *

Bao's arms were tied tight behind him, ensuring that the theif wouldn't be able to get away. His arms held bruises on them, along with various cuts and burns on them. His upper body was bare, glistening with sweat and blood, and more bruises and cuts.

Agent Scourge smirked to himself, a look Bao couldn't see since he was blindfolded, and turned to the shelves behind him.

 _-Rago Black-_

 _-Hitter, Thief, Mastermind, and Grifter; no team known-_

 _-the reason behind the dreaded Project Nemesis-_

Rago pulled on a pair of latex gloves, and picked up a jar off the shelf. He opened it, then dipped a finger into the red, translucent paste, stirring it as he made his way over to the redhead.

Bao must have been listening, because his breathing picked up at Rago's near silent footsteps.

Rago smirked.

Bao had no idea what he was in for.

* * *

Bao felt the effects of whatever Rago put on him immeadiately.

 _Muscle weakness, shortness of breath, hypersensitivity, fever, disorientation..._

Those were just a few things Bao was feeling. He felt like he was suffocating-

 _It was too hot, he needed cold air on his body, in his lungs._

He needed to move, he could feel the fatigue setting in-

 _Thieves aren't supposed to be tired, they need to be awake, quick on their feet-_

Bao jolted as a hand laid on his throat- it _burned._

 _Why the hell does it burn so much, why- why- why- make it stop..._

It was the hypersensitivity, Bao reasoned, through his pain- hazed mind. That was the only thing he could think of. But what would burn so much with a single touch-

 _Capsaicin oil._

Bao whimpered as the touch moved from his throat, to stroke his face in a mockery of a gentle gesture. After his face, the hand went back over his throat, over his chest, down his arms-

 _God, it burned... it burned, make it stop, make it stop...!_

Bao let out a muffled yelp, jumping a little as something hot dripped down on his shoulder.

Candle wax.

The burning touch had erased his ability to feel heat, his hypersensitivity strengthening that, so his whole body would jerk when the wax hit his skin.

Smart.

A hand threaded through his hair, bringing his head back, exposing his throat, and the next drop of wax wasn't a drop, but a steady stream that trailed all down his throat.

Bao's scream filled the room with short, breathless bursts.

 _STOP, STOP, STOP, STOP IT! STOP!_

The wax stopped coming, but the hand in his hair stayed, keeping his head pulled back while the wax hardened around his throat.

The weight of the hardened wax just made it that much harder to breathe...

Bao felt his hands being untied, and he tried to struggle, but whatever drug that Rago had put on him first... the muscle weakness stayed strong. Bao felt like he was trying to lift molten lead.

He was hauled to his feet, he dimly realized, dragged across the room.

His entire body siezed up he was half pushed, half thrown on to some rough cloth.

 _Oh, god, that hurt on his skin, he couldn't take it, couldn't take it..._

Then a heavy weight was on him, like a person crawling over him. His wrists were grabbed, stretched over his head, and a coarse rope wrapped around them and tied off over his head. Another rope, just as coarse, was slipped around his throat, like a backwards noose...

The darkness was coming in fast, Bao realized, dimly.

Only too gladly, he let it consume him.

* * *

They were outside the mansion that served as Caspian McKandless' hideout.

In the middle of a fucking desert in some Asian country.

And some people had no problem voicing this complaint.

" _Why couldn't it have been somewhere nice? Like, I don't know... Ireland? I hear Ireland is nice, this time of year._ "

Kuro gained a tick mark as she listened to Masamune complain, "Would someone shut him up?"

There was a grunt, yelp, and muffled laugh over the comline, followed by Ash saying, " _You're welcome_."

"Thank you." Kuro said, "We'll get this thing under way in about five minutes."

Kuro then turned to the five people she was with. Only one was preparing herself to go in.

"You'll have to be quick, and report every few minutes-" Kuro started.

"Five minutes will do." Jasmine said, briskly.

"Sure. Also, keep an eye on your six-"

"Got it."

"Don't let them know-"

"Understood."

Kuro stared long and hard at Jasmine, who was adjusting her leather jacket around the knives strapped to her, before zipping it up.

"Fucking grifters... Free spirits, the lot of you." Kuro pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, your point?" Jasmine scowled, sheathing two knives into her left boot.

"Probably the fact your type don't know how to communicate with your team mates." Dark Heart said, icily. It was obvious he was tense, not comfortable with the fact he was standing to someone who had backstabbed him and run.

Jasmine moved to her other boot, shoving two knives in it.

"Especially you." Dark Heart continued, "You're insane, a rebel, and only ever listen to your sister."

Yasmina scoffed a little, but it was one of agreement.

Jasmine stood up, checking the barrel of her gun, before clicking off the safety.

"Seriously- is that why you left or got kicked off every team you were on?" Dark Heart asked, "Because if so, you really need to work on your communication skills-"

Dark Heart was cut off as Jasmine whipped around him, threaded a hand through his hair, and brought his lips down to hers. His eyes went wide in shock, while Jasmine's were shut.

Kuro and Damian stared, Yasmina squeaked, and Jack's jaw dropped.

Jasmine finally released her hold on Dark Heart. She stared at him for a moment, cryptically, before speaking.

"How's that for communication?"

Then, Jasmine turned and bolted off over the sand to begin her infiltration.

* * *

Jasmine knew she was in trouble the moment she walked through the door. Her earpiece came alive with a high pitched noise and static, causing her to rip it out of her ear.

Jasmine breathed heavily; already the plan was going to hell. She looked around, not seeing anyone in the hallway, except the dim lights.

She took one step forward, before a set of arms grabbed her from behind.

"Well, well, well..." A voice purred, "Look who we have here..."

Jasmine slammed her elbow backwards into who held her. It connected solidly with their stomach, and their grip loosened. She jerked away, turning on her feet to stare at who had attempted to grab her.

"Ryuto Katashi?" She whispered, "What are you doing working with the enemy?"

Ryuto smirked, and Jasmine noted that his eyes were too cold, too heartless, for who he was. They were amber, but darker, somehow, looking a little more insane.

"Ziggurat showed me the right path. Just like he showed Chao Xin, Gingka, and Sora." Ryuto drawled, and as he spoke, said three men stepped from the shadows, surrounding Jasmine.

"We can do this quietly, Agent Vampress." Chao Xin drawled, "Or you can resist and we still take you out."

"If I don't report to my team outside every five minutes, they're coming in." Jasmine said, "Even if you do take me out, you'll be overwhelmed."

"We know." Gingka said, smirking savagely, "That's why Rago, Doji, Ziggurat, Caspian, and Alyssa have already made their escape, along with everyone else in the house."

Jasmine felt her heart drop into her stomach, "W- what?"

"It's just us, right now, Jazzie." Sora grinned.

 _-Sora Akatsuki-_

 _-Thief, Team Koma-_

 _-people often underestimate him-_

"You sure you can take on all four of us at once?" Ryuto asked.

Jasmine drew her gun and a knife. She widened her stance, and narrowed her eyes.

"Hit me with your best shot."

* * *

 **Bao: Fuck you, Khione.**

 **Me: Screw you too. It only gets worse from here.**

 **Luke: I HATE YOU!**

 **Me: *sweatdrop***

 **Jasmine: What the hell was that ending?!**

 **Me: *tick mark* It gets worse for every single one of you, trust me.**

 **Jasmine, Bao, Luke: HOW CAN YOU DO ANY WORSE?!**

 **Me: *smirk* See ya guys! Leave a review!**


	16. My Immortal

"It's been ten minutes, she hasn't called in yet. Kuro-" Yasmina cut off, looking and sounding panicked.

"Everyone move in." Kuro's voice was crisp and short, "Fight to injure, not to kill."

* * *

There was not a single person in the house.

"Where in the _fuck_ is he?!" Kuro's roar resounded through the entire house.

"Where the hell is Jasmine?" Dark Heart deadpanned, "In the wind again- See, I _told_ you, you shouldn't've sent her in! She ran, she abandoned the job- she's with the fucking enemy-"

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you insufferable bastard!" Yasmina snarled at him, "You're only fucking upset because of what Jasmine just did to you!"

Dark Heart scowled at her, and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Chris' voice.

"You guys might wanna come check this out!"

Everyone tromped through the house, to where Chris stood in the front room. He had pulled a china cabinet aside, revealing a hidden doorway with stairs that lead down somewhere.

"Hidden passage. Bet that's how they made their escape." Christina said, "How did we miss that?"

"Because Caspian only let us know so much." Nefertiti said.

"Let's go." Kuro had pulled a flashlight and a gun out, her wrists crossed, "We're going for a little walk."

* * *

"Just how far does this fucking tunnel go?!" Ash grumbled.

"SHH!" Ryuga hissed, "Do you wanna get found out?!"

"They're probably long gone by now." Ash grumbled, "They knew we were coming in."

"Once again, Jasmine probably sold us out." Dark Heart piped up from somewhere among the group.

"Would the entire lot of you shut up-" Yasmina was cut off as she ran into Kuro, "Ow! Kuro, what the hell?"

"Feel that breeze?" Kuro asked, and silence fell over the tunnel, as everyone paused.

Sure enough, a cool breeze washed over them.

"Let's go." Kuro said, and she took off at a dead run, leaving everyone to scramble to catch up.

* * *

Jasmine was alternating between glaring at Caspian, Alyssa, Doji, Ziggurat, Rago, and every other member that was the enemy, and staring at the two people that looked near dead on the floor.

Bao was shivering, his entire body covered in bruises, hardened wax, and cuts.

Jasmine wanted to get closer and look, but she was pretty damn sure that Bao's eyes were sealed shut with wax. And if her eyes weren't decieving her, was that wax in his ears?

Jasmine wanted so badly to reach out, trace a gentle hand over his face or even through his hair.

"Don't try it." Rago smirked, "You'll just hurt him more."

Jasmine stared at him, "What did you _do_?!"

Rago smirked, "Want a demonstration?"

"No."

"Yes." Everyone else said, cruel smirks and grins on their faces.

Jasmine glared at them all, before settling on Rago, "What. Did. You. Do?"

"Watch." Rago crouched down next to Bao, his hand barely hovering over Bao's skin, before he simply laid a hand in between Bao's shoulders.

Jasmine nearly tore her hair out at the low scream that made its way out of the redhead's throat.

"If Kuro was here, you'd be begging for death." Jasmine hissed.

Rago shrugged, and kept his hand on Bao, dragging it over the tan man's skin- well... his formerly tan skin. It was turning pale, from what could only be blood loss.

Bao was shaking, hoarse whimpers drawing out of his throat.

Jasmine had to look away, and as she did, her eyes landed on Luke. Caspian was standing over him, eyes glittering maliciously. Welts stood out on Luke's back, bruises covering almost every inch of skin, and he looked far too thin for someone who had only been in the enemy's hands for a week.

Jasmine looked down, barely listening when one of the men snapped their fingers.

She yelped when Ryuto and Gingka grabbed her by the arms.

"Take her away boys." Caspian drawled, "Do with her what you will. But don't kill her. I want to keep her alive for as long as possible."

* * *

"A helicopter landing pad." Aguma deadpanned, "They had an escape plan alright."

"No kidding." Damian scoffed, kicking his shoe over the pavement, "How did we miss this on the way in?"

"It's dark. No moon tonight, only stars." Julian muttered, "That's how."

"Wonderful." Ryuga growled, "So they got away again?"

"Looks like it-" Toby was cut off.

Kuro let out a primal scream, and pointed her gun into the air, firing and firing until she emptied her clip.

" _GOD-FUCKING-DAMN THEM!_ " She screamed.

Kuro then proceeded to go off on a rant in Chinese.

"Why does she seem to blame herself so much?" Da Xiang asked, concerned.

"... Because I was supposed to take Bao out, but I didn't." Christina spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, "And Doji confronted us about it, asked Kuro if she'd let me take the punishment, or if she'd let him choose, and she said for him to do what he wanted and-"

"They had Bao, Rago was there, and we saw Kuro break down for the first time in over a decade." Kai finished.

"So it's double torture." Dark Heart said, "They're torturing Bao physically... and Kuro, emotionally."

There was silence, except for Kuro's ranting in anger, before Ash sighed.

"Yeah..." Her voice was quiet, "Basically."

* * *

 ***whistles* Leave a review?**


	17. Time Marches On

**Minor, not very graphic, torture scene for this chapter.**

 **Seriously, it's not like it was with Bao, I promise. (at least, I don't think so)**

 **Read on!**

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Julia barely looked up from her computer when Nero appeared beside her.

"Looking up every building that Caspian, Alyssa, Doji, Ziggurat, and Rago owns, both publicly and privately." Julia replied, tartly.

"Need help?"

"No."

"Who have you looked up so far?"

Julia sighed, "You're not gonna go until I say I need help... are you?"

"No, he's not."

Nero and Julia looked up to see Kakeru, Madoka, and Tyler walk in. Tyler was the one who had spoken.

"And niether are we." Tyler said, "Come on. We'll help you. Tell us what to do."

Julia stared at him, before she looked at Madoka, "Can you pull a flat, world map on the big screen?"

Madoka sat down at the conference room's main computer, and did just that, "What's next?"

Julia typed a few keys on her keyboard, and several dozen red dots popped up, "These are all Caspian's properties... Can we split up the other four among us?"

The other three hackers present sat down, pulling their own laptops out.

"Fire away." Kakeru said.

"Kakeru, you look up Alyssa. Nero, Ziggurat. Tyler, Doji. Madoka, you got Rago. I'm gonna look up their team members, see what I can dig up on them." Julia said.

"Right on. With the lot of us working together, it shouldn't take long." Nero nodded.

* * *

"Almost one hundred locations..." Nero said, "How are we gonna narrow this down?!"

"Think like the enemy?" Madoka shrugged.

"Like that ever works." Julia said.

"Average helicopter holds almost 33 gallons of gas..." Tyler mused, "If you go at an average speed of one hundred miles an hour, with about 30 miles to a gallon... how many hours does it take before you run out of gas?"

"Just a little over 90 hours." Nero said, instantly.

Julia stared, "How did-"

"He's a genius. Just get used to it." Tyler said, "Someone, pull up all locations in a ninety hour radius from the location we found the helicopter landing pad at."

Madoka did so, and all the dots but about two dozen disappeared.

"Well that narrowed it down quick." Kakeru blinked.

"Next, look up which one has helicopter landing pads on the property." Tyler said.

The dots went from two dozen, to just eight.

"Well, I'll be damned." Madoka said, "Would you look at that?"

"They're all big and flashy... but they need privacy." Tyler murmured, then spoke louder, "Last thing: private, but big."

Madoka typed, and one location popped up.

"Tokyo?" Julia blinked, "That's where they are?"

"Pack your bags, ladies and gents." Tyler said, "We're headed to the land of money and racing." Tyler scowled, "And we'll need to be fast. We don't know what these guys could do- for all we know, they're preparing to run right now."

* * *

"Oh, I never thought I'd be behind the wheel of this thing again!" Christina laughed as she shifted the gears of her Lamborghini, "God, I love this car!"

" _On your left, Crissie_!"

The blonde blinked as a red Ferrari pulled up on her left. From the driver's seat, Nefertiti waved. In the passenger seat, sat a weak looking Nile.

Christina watched as Nefertiti pulled ahead of her, then cut in front of her.

"Oh, it is on!" Christina scoffed, reaching out to shift gears again, but Chris' hand on her's stopped the girl.

"Please... don't." Chris groaned, "I'm feeling sick enough."

"Wuss." Christina rolled her eyes, but dropped her hand.

" _You really think they're here_?" Nile's voice crackled over the line, " _I mean... flashy_."

" _Their property is just outside the city limits of Tokyo, little brother_." Nefertiti sighed. Christina could practically hear the eye roll, " _They're smart, not stupid_."

"And what are we gonna do if they are here?" Chris muttered, "We can't get them out in these cars!"

" _We report back for the extraction team and then go back to Himitsu and wait._ " Kuro's voice crackled over the line, for the first time of the conversation. Her voice was grim and tired.

"Waiting's the toughest part." Christina said, "Nef, you gonna be on standby at the hospital if they need that level of help?"

" _ **If**_ _, they need that level of help_?" Nefertiti asked, " _Christina, you know as well as I do, this situation is no_ _ **if**_ _. They_ _ **are**_ _gonna need that level of help_."

* * *

The metal gag propped Jasmine's mouth open, giving Chao Xin full access to her mouth.

"Such a waste to mess up such a pretty face." Chao Xin mused, "But it needs to be done, I suppose. Just so long as you don't die, this will be fine."

Jasmine let out a choked whimper, eyes on Chao Xin.

A cloth slipped over her eyes, blocking her sense of sight.

 _No... no, no, no, no, no...! I- I need to see what's going on!_ Jasmine thrashed in the metal chair, but the copper wires around her wrists, arms, and legs held fast, digging and cutting into her skin. Jasmine was forced to still, if she didn't want to maul herself.

"Just relax, Agent Vampress." In her ear, Gingka's voice was low and cruel, "I'm sure you'll get quite the _jolt_ out of this..."

 _Why does that not make me feel any better-_

A scream of unadulterated agony ripped out of the depths of Jasmine's throat as suddenly, an arc of electricty ripped through her. Her back arched, trying to get away from the shock, but that only proved for the wires around her to dig into her flesh.

So that's why they used wire, instead of rope, as restraints...

Jasmine wasn't sure how long it lasted, but eventually, the electricity cut off, and she slumped into her chair, panting harshly. Her throat felt raw from her screaming.

"That was only about three minutes, Vampress. Impressive." Chao Xin mused.

Jasmine was dazed, every nerve in her body feeling like it was on fire.

"But let's continue this, yes?" Chao Xin mused.

Jasmine tensed up, expecting another shock to pass through her. Nothing happened for a long moment, and Jasmine felt herself begin to relax...

Then, something was inserted into her mouth, pressed to her gums, and the sound of a drill bit whiring to life filled her ears.

This time, Jasmine didn't even have time to not think about screaming.

The pain was just too much to handle.

* * *

He hasn't been touched in what feels like forever.

Bao's laid out, tied down, exauhsted, beyond thirsty, and barely able to breathe- _waiting_ for the next touch.

Bao begins to wonder if maybe Rago is letting him rest, but Bao knows he'd much rather be unconsious than asleep.

The world swims around him- his sight is gone, so is his hearing; he's been tortured with touch and taste- God, Bao didn't even want to think about what happened when Rago had but the paste and oil in his mouth; it had hurt so. Fucking. Much- and now he's pretty sure up and down is being taken away too.

Bao's world seems to shift sharply, and he focuses on breathing. Time was passing by agonizingly slow...

Bao flinched as someone suddenly touched him, gentle and careful. Fingertips on his pulse, and Bao expects the raw burning to kick in again. The fingers are cool and smooth, but they jerk away too quickly and Bao sinks into space again, reeling, afraid, and confused because-

 _It didn't burn._

The touch comes back, and this time, there's a smooth, but slippery drag of leather, and then hope begins to bloom in Bao's chest.

 _Please... please, let this be who I think it is..._ Bao thought.

Bao shifts his jaw, and tries to talk; he thinks he feels the right word come out, but his hearing is gone and he's not sure-

"Kuro?"

The hand on his neck twitches, but doesn't pull away. Time moves slowly, stuttering heartbeat and heaving breaths, and then someone is threading a hand through his hair- no, two hands. Bao waits, Bao feels...

Someone's playing with his hair, working out the tangles in a lock, and beginning to braid it, just like when they were younger, when they weren't seeing each other as enemies-

 _Oh, god it is... it is you, Kuro, you're here, get me out of here, I want out, help me, help me, help me..._

Bao feels a sob rise up out of his throat, and his eyes burn from being unable to shed his tears, thanks to the wax over them.

Bao breathes, Bao waits...

And Bao relaxes, because he knows his sister is there for him.

* * *

Kuro is going to kill Rago- slowly and more painfully than Rago is killing her brother. She knows how, she's just going to have to make sure she has about a month to herself and absolute privacy.

When she, Nefertiti, Chris, Christina, and Nile had split up when they arrived on the property, Kuro had come in through the basement window. The basement was expansive, and she hadn't even gotten through the entire room when she saw a slightly open door with a light on inside.

Her curiousity had gotten to her, and against her better judgement, she'd investigated, despite alarm bells going off in her head to not do so.

Now she was glad she had. She'd found Bao, but not in the condition she wanted him to be in.

His skin is drenched in sweat and his chest heaving, part of that accounted due ot the heat and humidity of the room, but there are long, red marks, smudged round ones, and line of wax going from under his chin, all the way down to his waist line.

Kuro had knelt by the bed- more of a cot, really- Bao was tied down to, and reached out to touch him, only to be met with a flinch, and her fingers burned.

She'd withdrawn her hand and pulled on her black, leather gloves, before reaching back out to touch and feel for his pulse.

His pulse is weak, thready, and jumps as his chest heaves, and Kuro is momentarily frozen. Her eyes take in how dry and cracked his lips are, and the fact that he is _quite literally dying of thirst and hunger._

Bao's throat moves, and there's a hiss of air that could be a word, and Kuro is sure as hell gonna read her brother's lips if she can't hear.

"Yeah, bro... it's me." Kuro murmured, softly. Kuro reached up, with her free hand, to take off his blindfold, and then froze.

 _His eyes are sealed shut with wax._

Kuro feels her eyebrow twitch, her rage boil; if Rago has damaged Bao's eyesight, there's _no power on this fucking planet_ that will stop her from messing Rago up so bad he _won't know how to die._

So Kuro moves to Bao's hair instead, and smooths out a lock of its tangles and begins to braid, swiftly and calmly as she can.

Bao seems to let out a sob of relief, and relax, but Kuro knows this isn't over yet.

She can't get Bao out of here, not in the state he's in, not when she didn't come prepared, but she also can't leave him. He looks to be on Death's door, and if the extraction team doesn't get here in time-

Kuro doesn't want to think about that, so she makes a decision, as she smooths out the braid.

She's staying, and not even God himself will be able to make her leave her brother.

Not after the hell she's unintentionally put him through.

* * *

 **So... kinda happy reunion with Kuro and Bao there.**

 **Bao: Thank goodness... Are we moving on with this story, yet?**

 **Me: Are you kidding? There's still a ton of chapter to go! Don't relax just yet, red!**

 **Bao: *groans***

 **Me: ^-^ leave a review!**


	18. Sweet Sacrifice

"Jasmine!" Christina breathed, catching sight of her friend, "Jazz, are you... of holy fu..."

Christina's voice trailed off and Chris, after checking to make sure they were alone, stepped up next to his sister.

Christina was hovering over Jasmine, who lay unconsious, strapped to a metal chair. The woman's jaw and mouth looked terribly lacerated, both inside and out. Her body twitched, like she was restless, but upon looking down at the floor, Chris saw jumper cables attached to the chair, leading to a good sized machine on the other side of the room.

Chris stared at it, and his ears perked up as he heard a low hum come from it.

"Don't touch her." Chris grabbed Christina's hand, right before she would've laid her hand on Jasmine's arm, "There's a current of electricity going through her right now. It's low, but enough to cause her pain and anyone else who touches her."

Christina looked at Jasmine in fear, then her eyes caught sight of the machine, "Can we turn it off?"

"We're only here to scope the place out and get an idea of the injuries, CC." Chris shook his head, "If we mess anything up, they'll know and could panic and run. Then we'll be set back that much more."

Christina let out a low whimper, "But Chris-"

"I know, I don't want to leave her either." Chris said, voice tight, "But we have to. We can't lose them when we're literally so close to getting them out."

Christina withdrew her hand, and Chris let go. The two stared at Jasmine, before Chris pulled his phone out, and pulled the camera up. He snapped a few photos of Jasmine's face, then pocketed his phone.

"Let Nefertiti know what she's dealing with." Chris said, in response to Christina's confused look, "She's gonna be the medic on them, right?"

Christina nodded, "Right. Hopefully. I don't know about the other two, but Jasmine's gonna need a helluva surgeon."

* * *

"Nef!" Nile's hiss caught Nefertiti's attention, and the girl turned to see her brother pressed up against a wall, eyes wide and face pale.

"What?" Neferiti whispered, walking up next to him.

Nile gestured to the door next to him, and Nefertiti paused, listening.

The sounds of low crying reached her ears, followed occasionally by hissing, acidic voice.

Against her better judgement, Neferiti peeked through the cracked door. Her eyes widened a fraction, her heart leaping into her throat. She stared for another moment, before backing away.

Strangely enough, her mind wasn't on the horror that Lucas McKandless was going through, but running through the list of injuries she had been able to see from where she'd been standing.

 _Arm at an odd angle... either broken or dislocated. Welts and open gashes on his back, whip marks that will need stitches. Burns, all between first and third degree, they'll need treatment. His movements, they're slow, and his eyes... they looked unfocused. He probably has a concussion... I don't even wanna think about the internal trauma, or the hours of rape Caspian's put him through... He's gonna need at least seven hours of surgery._

From his place next to her, Nile watched his sister, who stood with a thoughtful expression on her face. He knew what she was doing- she was running through a list of injuries.

Nile wasn't a medic, but he knew Luke was hurt bad. Nefertiti... she was a grifter, yes, but she was also one of the spy world's reknowned medics. She was a skilled doctor, a skilled surgeon... Not many people had died when they were treated by her.

Being a grifter meant you had to have an eye for detail. Nefertiti had that.

Being a doctor meant you had to have an eye for even the smallest injury. Nefertiti could do that.

Nefertiti seemed to have stopped thinking, as she grabbed her brother and pulled him down the hallway several feet, before she reached up and flipped her ear piece on. A low crackle of static filled Nile's ear before the line was open.

"Come in, guys. I need a head count." Nefertiti said.

" _Chris and I hear you loud and clear. We just saw Jasmine._ " Christina said.

"How is she?" Nefertiti kept her voice low.

" _... Not good. You got an oral surgeon at the hospital?_ " Chris asked, " _There were also signs she's been electrocuted. We're making our way back out to our rendevouz point._ "

" _You guys go. I'm staying. Bao's in... I don't know how to describe it. But he's bad._ " Kuro's voice was strained.

"Got it." Nefertiti didn't question Kuro's choice, "But can you give me a list of injuries?"

" _I see a lot of bruises and open wounds. There's an oil on him, one that burns bare skin when you touch it. Covered in candle wax, his eyes are sealed shut with it, and his ears blocked with it too._ "

"Sensory deprivation." Nile said, instantly. He shuddered, "One of the worst types of torture."

" _Signs of dehydration and starvation too. And I could be imagining it, but I'm pretty sure Rago might have gotten the oil into his mouth._ " Kuro said, and her voice was low, with a venomous undertone to it.

Nile watched Nefertiti's face go completely blank.

" _Fuck, gotta go offline._ " Kuro suddenly hissed, " _Someone's coming. You guys, get out of here, and send that extraction team immeadiately. Nefertiti..._ "

"I'll be waiting at the hospital." Nefertiti confirmed.

There was another crackle of static, and Kuro went offline.

Nile and Nefertiti gazed at each other, and Nile was struck with a sudden thought.

 _Has it always been like this?_ He thought, _Were we always enemies? How could we when we work so well together?_

"We'll meet you and Christina at the rendevous point, Chris." Nefertiti's voice snapped Nile out of his thoughts.

" _Roger that._ "

* * *

Kuro turned her comm off, gave her brother one last stroke through his hair, and stood up, glancing around the room for a place to hide.

The footsteps were just outside the room when Kuro dove into a closet, the door coming to a shut behind her with a quiet _CLICK!_

Kuro knelt down a little, and peered through the spaces between the slats of the closet.

Rago came into the room, completely at ease as he walked through the room. He paused in the middle of the room, eyes on Bao.

Kuro swallowed, and forced herself to stay still.

Rago smirked, and chuckled a little, "Time to up the ante a little." He turned and walked to a table behind him, rummaging around on it, "I know you can't hear me, little red, but talking while imagining you can makes it that much more fun. Because if you could hear me, hear what I'm about to tell you what I'm gonna do, you'd be struggling to get away that much more, no matter how weak you are."

Kuro frowned, watching Rago move around.

 _What in fuck's name is he talking about-... what the hell is that he's got now?_

Kuro cocked her head, narrowing her eyes and looking closer through the slats. In his hands, Rago held was looked like harness. It was made of metal and leather. It looked almost like a bridle for a horse, but smaller...

Kuro watched as Rago approached Bao, before threading a hand through his hair, and yanking his head back, sharply. Bao let out a hoarse whimper.

 _That_ was when Kuro noticed the small rows of spikes set into the leather, and how some of the spikes were also on the metal parts of the harness.

Kuro could only stare in horror as Rago then fitted the harness on Bao, listen as her brother made a noise of discomfort, watch as Rago released Bao, the harness on Bao's head. It wasn't tight, but it wasn't loose either.

"My little rendition of a war bridle, just fit for humans." Rago said, voice strangely contemplative, "The spikes dig into your face and head, some even on your neck, if I decide to hook those straps on. It also keeps your mouth open, and when you tighten it up..."

Rago reached out, and did something with a few of the straps. Bao let out a low cry of pain, or at least tried to, but all Kuro heard was a half cough, half gasp of air. Kuro swallowed thickly.

"It forces you to open wider." Rago chuckled, "I bet you're feeling the spikes along the bars inside your mouth now, aren't you?"

 _He can't be serious..._ Kuro thought, horrified, _It can cause that much damage?!_

"And now... for something that will get you to scream no matter how much you feel like you can't." Rago said, musingly.

Kuro watched as Rago picked up two straps that had been hanging loosely over Bao's body. She watched as he wrapped them around his hand, tugged them to where they were only taut, let them go slack...

And then _yanked._

Kuro's hands flew to her mouth, muffling her own yelp as a scream ripped out of Bao. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, not able to watch.

Her mouth burned, from the trace oil on her glove, but Kuro welcomed it- she was suffering a little something of the lot of something that Bao was going through.

She really _couldn't_ imagine what Bao was going through.

Another scream, this one shriller and louder than before, ripped through the air.

 _"Your punishment is this,"_ Doji's voice rang in her head, _"Knowing you're at fault for what your brother is about to go through."_

Doji had been right, the cunning bastard.

It _was_ Kuro's fault, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to make it otherwise.

* * *

"Where's Kuro?" Yasmina asked, when Chris, Christina, Nefertiti, and Nile walked into the training room of WWSA headquarters.

"She stayed behind." Nefertiti said, "I'm headed to the hospital now."

Chris and Christina walked over to the weapons rack.

"Kuro called for the extraction team already." Chris said, "Jasmine, Luke, and Bao are hurt bad, so-"

"I'm sending the ambulances. God damn them if they don't listen to me, because if any of them die before they get there, there's gonna be hell to pay." Nefertiti growled.

"One thing." Chris, who had just pulled a bulletproof vest on, handed Nefertiti his phone, "I snapped a few pictures of Jasmine's condition for you."

Nefertiti pulled up the pictures, at the same time Yasmina crowded over her shoulder.

"Damn." Nefertiti cursed, "And you said there was signs of electrocution, too?"

"Yes." Chris nodded,

"They... what have they done to her?!" Yasmina exclaimed, "That's it, I'm joining this extraction team."

"Yasmina-" Christina cut off as the look her friend gave her, "... suit up. I'll help you. Kai, Ash, you'll need to go for sure."

"You guys didn't happen to see Chao Xin, did you?" Mei- Mei asked.

"Or Gingka and Sora?" Agent Seira asked.

 _-Hyoma-_

 _-Mastermind, Team Koma-_

 _-long time friend with Gingka Hagane-_

"Or Ryuto?" Kakeru asked, eyeing Ryuga and Helios, who were suiting up as well.

Nile shook his head, "I didn't."

"Not me." Nefertiti said.

"Niether did we." Christina said. Worry crossed her face, "You don't think-"

"No." Ryuga snapped, "Until we have solid proof, we have to assume they're alive."

"Touchy." Nefertiti commented, "I'm headed off to the hospital to wait now. Anyone who wants to come, say so."

"I'll go." Christina said, "Chris... you come back alive, or you don't come back at all."

"Wait for me." Nero said, and then he jabbed a finger into Tyler's chest, "And the same goes for you, hotshot. Don't die on me."

Tyler smirked, "Would I?" His smirk disappeared though, and his eyes became soft, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Now, get going."

Nero gave Tyler one last look, before nodding and turning to leave.

"Wales, what are you doing- you're a thief you're not qualified as a hitter, or a fighter of any sort!" Julian said, as Nefertiti and her group left.

"You think I'm leaving my brother hanging in the balance?" Wales snapped back, "Fuck you- what if it was Nero in this position? You're a mastermind, but anyone who knows you knows you'll resort to violence when it comes to your family."

Julian scowled at his friend, but didn't have much room to answer.

"You gonna go, boss?" Damian asked Dark Heart.

"No." Dark Heart said, without emotion, "I'm staying right here, and the same for you two knuckleheads."

Damian and Jack looked at each other, having a conversation without speaking.

"You really need to let go of the past, boss. Sure, Jasmine's a cold hearted bitch, but she had her moments. So..." Damian's eyes narrowed, "Yeah... Sorry boss. I follow all of your orders, but this time... I'm gonna have to say... screw you. Jasmine's a former team mate, current enemy or not, and she's hurt and I'm going. Kick me off if you like, but I can make any team I want."

With that, to both Jack and Dark Heart's surprise and shock, Damian turned and walked off to get suited up.

* * *

 **Ba- ba- da! How's that for an ending?**

 **I should update maybe by late tonight, so just hang around, lol.**

 **Leave a review!**


	19. Remember Me

"Hands up, Doji."

Said man jumped and turned around to come face to face with the barrel of a gun. Then, he looked past end, and met the eyes of the owner of the gun.

"Ryuga Katashi..." Doji smirked, "What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Arresting you." Ryuga replied, and before Doji could react, Ryuga had brough the gun across Doji's face, slapping him out of his chair and on to the floor, "Where's my brother?"

Doji flipped over to stare up at Ryuga. He wiped his lower lip, blood smearing on his hand. He smirked, "Around here somewhere. The man's a free spirit, y'know." His smirk grew wider, "Escpecially after that experiment we did on him."

Doji's head connected hard with the concrete floor as Ryuga fell on top of him, hands in the folds of his suit jacket. His expression was murderous.

" _What did you say?!_ "

Doji laughed, "Why should I repeat it when you heard me?" His expression became serious, "Go ahead and kill me, if you won't. But if you do, you won't get the codes to bring your brother back to normal."

He'd left Ryuga with a near impossible choice.

Kill Doji, or never have the brother he knew back.

* * *

"In here." Chris said, leading the paramedics into the room he'd last seen Jasmine in.

He came to short stop, his gun snapping up and echoing through the room as he fired it.

Whoever was standing over Jasmine went down from the bullet into their leg, and Chris was on top of them in seconds.

"Chao Xin?!" Chris exclaimed.

The man smirked up at him, his eyes cold and emotionless, "Hey, Chris. Long time no see, huh?"

Chris blinked at him, snarled, and slammed his head into the concrete. Chao Xin went out like a light, and Chris proceeded to hand cuff him, intending to deal with him later.

Chris stood back up, and moved over to where Damian and the paramedics were unstrapping a barely consious Jasmine.

"Can you open your mouth, Jazz?" Damian asked.

The woman let out a low whimper as Chris and a shell shocked looking Yasmina moved to help her sit up.

A paramedic approached, shining a light at Jasmine's mouth as she spit up a large mouthful of blood, "Yeah, she's got multiple dental trauma, a possible fractured mandible... she's gonna need an oral surgeon."

"She's also been electrocuted." Another said, "She's got burns and open wounds on her wrists and legs. She's gonna need immeadiate treatment on those, as well some stitches. We'll need to check for internal trauma too."

Jasmine's eyes had fluttered shut, her head lolling to the side and laying on Yasmina's shoulder. Chris frowned, "Hey. Jazz. No, don't go to sleep on us."

"Jasmine." Yasmina tapped her sister's forehead, and Jasmine's eyes fluttered open a sliver, "Yeah, sis, that's it. Focus on my voice and stay awake. Can you do that for me?"

Chris bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to stay quiet, and watch. He moved to do what to do when ordered, because there was nothing that could really be done except watch and hope for the best.

* * *

When Helios and Tyler swarmed into the basement, they were met with the sight of what looked to be Rago about to deliver the finishing blow to Bao.

But before either of them could react, the closet door burst open, and a black blur rushed at Rago, screaming, " _NO!_ "

The knife in Rago's hand drove deep into Kuro's back as they crashed into the wall.

"Check on Bao, I got those two." Tyler barked, and he dove into the fray.

Helios turned to Bao, and hesitated. The redhead didn't even seem to be _alive._ And, oh holy fuck-

 _What was thing on his head?!_

Helios studied it, barely aware of the fact that the paramedics were starting to come in. He reached out, carefully, and began to undo what buckles and straps he saw.

Carefully, he pulled it off, and Bao let out a choked noise of pain, followed by a gargling sound-

 _Oh, shit, he was choking on his own blood-_

Helios moved fast, drawing a knife, slicing through the rough ropes that held Bao, and gently moving him on to his side, so he could spit the blood out of his mouth.

It still didn't stop the redhead from letting out a weak whimper.

The paramedics moved in, two to Bao, and one to Kuro, who sat on the floor some three feet away. Tyler had pinned Rago, handcuffed him, and barely looked like he'd been in a fight, save for an open gash over his eye.

Rago was snarling and trying to get away, but Tyler was more determined, and had adreneline on his side.

"... where do I even start?" Helios heard a paramedic whisper, then say louder into his radio, "Have a trauma room open at the hospital. We're putting Doctor Storm on Bao Blackheart. She's gonna have to see this one to believe it."

Helios was standing right there, and he himself could hardly believe it.

* * *

Nefertiti pulled her hair up into a long ponytail, before whipping her doctor's jacket on. She slammed her locker door shut, and walked out of the locker room, heading for the front desk.

One of the nurse's was standing there, seemingly waiting on her.

"Any news?" Nefertiti asked.

"They're on their way back now." The nurse said, "Four victims."

Neferitit frowned, "Four?"

"One of the agents got injured in a fight. Stab wound to the back." The nurse said, "We have our oral surgeon the way, as well as a skin specialist. Three trauma rooms are open. The head paramedic said that you specifically needed to do Bao Blackheart, that you needed to see his condition to believe it."

Nefertiti didn't doubt it. She picked up a clipboard full of paper and wrote some notes on it, "ETA?"

The nurse opened her mouth, but that's when the emergency room doors burst open, followed by the shouting of the paramedics.

Nefertiti barely glanced at Jasmine, Kuro, or Luke as they were rushed by. They currently weren't her problem.

Instead, she went straight for Bao.

Come hell or highwater, she was _not_ going to lose him.

* * *

 _He can't hear a damn thing._

Bao knows why, but he can see. He vaguely remembers that the paremedics, in the ambulance, had taken the wax off his eyes.

So why the hell couldn't they have gotten it out of his ears?!

It's the first thought Bao has when he wakes up. He'd been floating in what felt like an abyss- all darkness, and calm, and peacefulness, and no pain at all...

Then he'd been jolted back to the present.

He sees Tyler Blackout, Helios too, in the ambulance, looking worried and panicked.

Bao sees white walls rush by as he's pushed through what can be the hallway of a hospital. He has no real sense of time, so he has no idea when they arrived here.

There's a near half a dozen doctors bustling around him, twice as many nurse, when his world finally stills. Florescent lights burn his eyes, and he wants to shut them, but he's afraid to-

 _Stay awake, stay awake, you blink, you may not wake up, stay awake, stay awake..._

Nefertiti Storm moves into his vision, staring down at him, and then looking up and barking out something to the other people in the room. She looks back down at Bao, and then disappears out of his vision.

Bao sees the ceiling swarm closer to him, move to the side, and then get smaller again. Nefertiti comes back into view, a flashlight in her hand. She presses a gloved finger to his eyebrow, and Bao _thinks_ she pushes up, but he can't be sure.

Nefertiti moves the flashlight back and forth. Bao knows this, knows what to do, and tries to follow it.

Nefertiti moves away, and suddenly, someone's touching his face, and a scream rips out of his throat as they poke and prod at the open wounds surrounding his eyes and mouth, and parts of his throat.

Him opening his mouth makes the pain worse, and he screams louder-

 _But he can't hear his own damn scream._

Bao's whole body convulses, and suddenly, hands are everywhere, shoving him down. His sensitive skin seems to light up on fire, and he screams again, what feels like louder and more raw.

Nefertiti's back, and her mouth is moving, her expression thunderous.

 _Too late,_ Bao thinks, the darkness creeping in. He feels his eyes slip shut, and he sinks into the painless darkness, _It's too much... too much... too much..._

* * *

Kuro feels like her heart stops when she hears the heart monitor suddenly go from _Beep- Beep- Beep_ , to one long continuous _Beeeeeeeeep._

"Bao?" She whispered, looking up across the room to where several people rushed around a still body on a gurney.

"I need a defibulator in here, now!" Nefertiti roared, and two nurses rushed in with just that.

"No..." Kuro whispered, feeling her eyes widen in horror, "Oh, God, please, no..."

"Clear!" Nefertiti shouted, holding the paddles. Kuro watched through the mess of bodies as Bao's body jerked.

 _Beeeeeeep._

"Clear!" Nefertiti called again. Bao's body jerked again.

"Bao." Kuro whispered, pulling herself up to stand. She stumbled, and suddenly, both Helios and Tyler were there, holding her back and supporting her at the same time.

 _Beeeeeeep._

"Clear!" Nefertiti's voice sounded strained.

Bao's body jerked, and still nothing.

"Bao!" Kuro called.

 _Beeeeeep._

" _BAO!_ "

 _Beeeeeeep..._

* * *

 **CLIFFHANGER!**

 **What, you think I'm gonna go easy on you guys? Nope. Not me!**

 **So... yeah. That's it for today. Hopefully I'll be able to update tomorrow. *evil smirk, finger dance* Or not... I just may leave you guys on edge for a few days...**

 **Review!**


	20. Comatose

**I should mention, I got the title of this chapter from Skillet's song "Comatose". I just felt it really fit this chapter, to a certain extent. Moving on!**

* * *

Kuro paced the hospital waiting room, ignoring the pain radiating from the stitches in her back.

"Kuro, just sit down and wait." Christina spoke, softly. She flinched as the woman suddenly gazed at her with her death glare.

If looks could kill, Christina would be ash.

Christina sat down, and Kuro resumed pacing.

Five hours earlier, Tyler and Helios had dragged Kuro out of the trauma room. Five hours earlier, Kuro had no idea if her brother was gonna live to see another day. Five hours earlier, Kuro was a sobbing mess, wanting nothing more than to see Bao again.

Five hours later, and Kuro still had no idea what the fuck was going on.

* * *

Luke woke up slowly, his ears ringing, vision blurry, and mouth dry.

The swarm of doctors were gone, and so was the gurney. He was laying in a bed of fluffy pillows and heavy blankets. Luke glances down, and winces at the sight; his left arm is in a cast that goes above his elbow. His other arm is bandaged and has several IV's stuck in it.

Luke's right leg has a brace on it- not a cast, thankfully. Luke didn't wanna know what he would think if it had a cast on it. It has a few bandages on both his legs.

Luke shifts, and yelps as his entire back lights up in a fiery pain.

His yelp had startled the person who was asleep in the chair next to the window.

"Luke!" Wales' voice was a harsh whisper, full of concern and relief, "Are you- You're awake- Can you-"

"One thing at a time." Luke rasped, "Water."

"Right. Water." Wales turned to the table next to the hospital bed, and poured a glass of water about half full, "Can you hold it, or do you need help?"

Luke seriously debated that, before shaking his head, "I don't think I can hold anything right now."

Wales sat on the edge of Luke's bed, holding the glass to Luke's mouth. Luke drank, almost greedily.

He finished it off in seconds.

Luke sat back in his bed, sighing and closing his eyes. The minute he did, images of his father hovering over him, with those evil eyes and cruel smirk-

Luke's eyes flew open.

"Are you okay?" Wales asked, softly.

Luke gave his brother a level look, "Define okay."

Wales frowned, as if thinking, before saying, "Is it worse now, or was it worse when we were kids?"

Luke closed his eyes again, swallowing. The images came back, faster and more vivid.

"It's worse." Luke whispered, "A lot more worse."

* * *

Dark Heart looked ready to kill Damian, and said blunette knew it. But he was currently dragging his boss through the hospital hallways.

"At least pop in." Damian said, "See how she's doing, give Yasmina your condolences, then you can leave."

"I don't do sympathy." Dark Heart deadpanned, as they came to a stop outside a patient room. The door was shut, "Is this it?"

"Yeah. Now, just go in-" Damian was cut off as the door suddenly flew open, and Yasmina appeared, face full of fear.

" _I NEED A DOCTOR IN HERE, NOW!_ "

Dark Heart and Damian jumped out of the way as several nurses and a doctor rushed into the room.

Dark Heart stared at the scene in front of him, shocked and intrigued at the same time.

Yasmina lay sobbing over Jasmine's still form. A heart moniter was beeping with a rapid pace, between offline and online.

 _Yes... Let her die. When she dies, I'll have YOU!_

Dark Heart cried out as a sudden, mental attack slammed into him like a frieght train.

Darkness consumed him.

* * *

Yasmina looked up a shadow fell over him and the bustling nurses and doctor. They'd stablized her sister, but they were now about to put her in a medical indused coma.

Dark Heart stood there, but his eyes weren't purple. Rather, they were blood red.

"Yami." Yasmina croaked.

"Here in the flesh." Yami smirked, "I have something I wanna say to the little vixen." Yami leaned down, his lips next to Jasmine's ear. His voice was low, but Yasmina heard every word.

"I win, _Jazzie_ girl. Dark Heart is all mine. You lost."

Yami leaned back up, a cruel smirk on his lips, then turned and walked out the door.

Next to Yasmina, the heart moniter continued to beep.

* * *

"We... have got a big fucking problem." Kuro looked up at Ryuga's voice in the doorway.

"What now?" She asked, irritably.

"Rago..." Ryuga shifted on his feet, "He escaped from his holding cell."

There was dead silence in the waiting room.

And then, it was like the bombshell exploded.

" _WHAT_?!" Everyone shouted.

"Tell me you're fucking kidding me!" Masamune exclaimed.

"Please say this is your messed up version of a joke." Kakeru deadpanned.

Ryuga shook his head, "No. I'm afraid not. He killed the six agents guarding him."

Kai groaned and ran a hand over her face, "Well, this whole situation just went to hell!"

"No kidding." Ash agreed.

And then... Nefertiti walked in.

"Nef!" Kuro was on her feet and in her friend's face, "Tell me- is he okay? Can I see him? Is he awake-"

Kuro cut off her questions when she saw the look on Nefertiti's face- solemn and grim and sympathetic.

"... Nefertiti?" Kuro whispered.

"I'm... sorry, Kuro." Nefertiti said, her voice barely above a whisper, "I tried everything I could... The damage was more internal than it was external, and that's what killed him."

Kuro felt like the floor had just been ripped out from under her. Shock numbed her, and she stumbled back, whispering, "No... P- please tell me this... Nef, it can't be... Don't tell me he's really-"

"He died on the table." Nefertiti said, voice low, "Again, I'm sorry." Nefertiti looked up and over at someone behind Kuro, "Ryo. I need to talk to you."

Ryo moved by Kuro, and the two stepped out of the waiting room and into the hallway.

"Kuro?" Aguma's voice was behind her, "Are you okay-"

Kuro screeched and bolted out of the waiting room.

 _She just couldn't accept the fact that her brother was dead._

* * *

 **Let's see... Bao's dead, Yami's taken over, and Jasmine is now in a coma. Who thinks I can do worse? Cause if you think I can't, then you're. Dead. Wrong!**

 **Review?**


	21. Grave Digger

The room was lit by a single lightbulb. The table and chair were cold metal, and a small, blinking red light in the shadows indicated there was a video camera recording the interview.

"State your name."

From the shadows. Tsubasa stepped out, eyeing the man in the chair.

"Doji." The man looked right back at Tsubasa.

"Codename?"

"Agent Wolf."

"Affliliation?"

"Mastermind." Doji paused, "And leader."

"Team?"

"Team Akui."

"How long have you been a spy?"

"Since I was sixteen. Thirty four years."

"Were you involved with Project Nemesis, five years ago?"

Tsubasa made a note on the papers in his hands. He looked back up, "How many people are on your team? Both willing and unwilling."

"Twenty three." DOji smirked.

"Which are the willing ones?"

"Rago Black, myself, Ziggurat, Reiji, Johannes, Jigsaw, Team Garcia, and Caspian and Alyssa McKandless."

"Twelve in total were willing to aid you in your attempt to cripple the WWSA?"

" _We,_ " Doji said, "Aided Caspian and Alyssa. It was their idea."

Tsubasa stared at him, "Continue."

"I got the call from Caspian a little over a year ago. He asked for my team's help in the recruitment of Team Blackheart." Doji explained.

"Did they join your cause willingly or willingly?"

"Unwillingly, I suppose." Doji mused.

"Give a solid answer, Agent Wolf."

Doji sighed, theatrically, "We blackmailed them."

"With what?"

"That they'd have to watch the torture and death of their loved ones if they didn't join." Doji smirked, "They agreed to help us immeadiatly."

"And what of the other four, who were unwilling?"

Doji clicked his tongue, "You'll have to ask Ziggurat about that. I twas his arrangement system that caused them to change from unwilling, to willing."

* * *

Tsubasa stepped out of the interview room, exhaling, "He's getting a deal for sure."

Ryuga scowled, "He shouldn't."

"Ryuga, he's cooperating. He'll probably be out of jail at the age of sixty, if not sooner!" Tsubasa said.

"He might. But Ziggurat won't." Ryuga turned and walked down the hallway.

"Uh... Tsubasa, where's he going?" Yuu asked from the sideline, left arm in a sling. His free hand gripped a crutch, as his right leg was in a cast.

Surprisingly, with the extraction mission, Yuu had not been turned evil, and he had been the least hurt.

 _Physically, at least_. Tsubasa thought, following Ryuga, _I have my doubts about his mental state._

Tsubasa and Yuu walked off after Ryuga, watching him slam into Ziggurat's interview room. Tsubasa turned on the intercom, and they watched through the one way glass.

"Tell me about your arrangement system." Ryuga snarled.

Ziggurat stood up, voice cold, "I'm not telling you a _damn_ thing."

Ryuga's grin was terrifying, "I was hoping you'd say that."

Yuu yelped as Ziggurat suddenly flew into the glass. Tsubasa sweatdropped, then groaned under his breath.

"Isn't it illegal to beat up a suspect?" Yuu asked.

"Yep." Tsubasa paused, "But are you gonna go in there and tell Ryuga that?"

Yuu sighed.

* * *

"Why?"

Caspian looked up, meeting Wales' gaze with his own icy one, "Because it's _fun_. Toying with your brother on every level imaginable... It's the best pleasure I can get."

Wales narrowed his eyes, "You're sick." He jabbed his finger at Alyssa, "You're sicker, for letting him do it."

Alyssa shrugged, "I like to watch." She grinned, "You should've heard him though- begging for you to save him, wondering what the point to living was anymore... He wants to die, Wales. You're the monster here, for preventing it."

Wales reeled back, but Alyssa wasn't done. She leaned closer, eyes glittering and voice low.

"How long will you continue to be selfish, Wales?" Alyssa asked, "How long before you realize not everyone can forget the past?"

* * *

"Kuro, _what_ are you doing?" Kai demanded, as her friend rushed around her bedroom. Kuro wiped at her eyes, viciously.

"Leaving." She snapped.

"Why? You have to prepare for Bao's funeral-"

"I'm not going to the damn funeral!" Kuro snarled, throwing some clothes into her duffel bag, "I plan to be long gone by then!"

Kai blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"I don't have a reason to stay: Bao's dead, Nefertiti's got her job, Christina's about to transfer to Team Dungeon-"

Kai blinked again, not seeing that coming.

"-Jasmine's comatose, Yasmina's a wreck, and niether you nor Ash need to be on this godforsaken team! Not to mention, Rago's out there somewhere, and he needs to fucking _pay_."

"I joined Team Blackheart not because you asked me to, but because I saw something in it." Kai stated, "Ash joined because she saw a family in us. And if you're about to go on a revenge seeking mission-"

"This isn't about revenge." Kuro's voice cracked, but it was truthful. Then her voice and expression became cold, "And Ash is just gonna have to find a new family. Why don't you go join Team Outlaw- they need someone to temporarily take Ryuto's place, not to mention... at least you'll have _your_ brothers."

Kuro zipped her duffel bag shut, and Kai could only watch as she stormed out of the room. She sighed.

 _Sayanora Team Blackheart_ , Kai thought. _Looks like we're all on our own._

* * *

 **SHANGHAI, CHINA**

Ryo walked through the crowded streets, his mind as alive as the current night life.

 _It's not like this hasn't been done before in the spy world. But with Rago loose... it's for everyone's safety._

Ryo sighed and turned into a small resturaunt. Compared to outside, it was quiet in here.

Ryo glanced around, before making his was to the darkest corner booth. He pulled out a file, as well as a few passports from his bag and laid them on the table. He began speaking in Chinese.

"Wǒ xiāngxìn zhèxiē ràng wǒ de jīngjì rén." **(1)**

Steel violet eyes glittered, and a female voice replied, "Shì. Dāngrán. Wǒ huì qīnzì sòng tāmen." **(2)**

"Rúhé shì wǒ de jīngjì rén?" **(3)**

"Wéijí." There was a pause, "Hé qítā rén ne?" **(4)**

"Xiāngtóng." Ryo sighed. **(5)**

"Shì zěnyàng de nǚhái?" **(6)**

Ryo thought about the best way to respond, before answering.

"Chénchuán. Tā yǐjīng xiāoshīle, méiyǒu rén néng zhǎodào tā." **(7)**

"Wǒ dǒngle." The woman paused as her phone beeped. She checked the message, then sighed, "Wǒ bìxū qù. Wǒ de lǎobǎn xīwàng wǒ huí dào wǒ de zhíwù. Wǒ huì jíshí xiàng dàjiā fābù, liàng Hagane." **(8)**

Ryo nodded, and returned to English, "Thank you. Good luck."

The woman gathered the papers, stood, and then walked out the back door of the resturaunt, leaving Ryo to his thoughts once again.

 _The spy world has a lot of secrets,_ Ryo mused. _Some are simple, some are complex. Some are easy to accept. Others... they can take time to sink in._

Ryo sighed again.

 _And some... people don't even want to believe._

* * *

 **TRANSLATIONS:**

 **(1): I trust these to get to my agent.**

 **(2): Yes of course. I will deliver them personally.**

 **(3): How is my agent?**

 **(4): Critical. And the others?**

 **(5): Same**

 **(6): How is the girl?**

 **(7): A wreck. She has disappeared, and no one has been able to find her.**

 **(8): I see. I must go. My boss wishes for me to return to my post. I shall keep you updated, Ryo Hagane.**

 **I used Google translate for these, of if they're not right... blame Google. Also, I SHOULD be able to update by sometime in the 9- 10 o clock hour.**

 **Leave a review!**


	22. Never Stop Believing

_**ONE YEAR LATER**_

"I will run if he gets mad, I'm telling you now." Jack hissed at Damian, "I'm leaving you three behind- I'm not crazy enough to provoke the hellspawn! I'll gladly deal with Dark Heart, but I ain't dealing with Yami!"

"Calm down." Damian snapped, then knocked on the door to their boss's office.

"What?" Was the muffled response.

Damian opened the door, blocking the people behind him.

"You have visitors." Damian said.

"I'm not seeing, or expecting, anyone. Tell them to leave-" Yami scowled, but cut off.

Damian stepped out of the doorway, and from the shadows of the hallway, a female figure walked through.

Yami stared, "You're..." He narrowed his eyes, "Alive?"

"I never died, Yami." Jasmine Laize stated, "If you had stuck around a year ago, you'd have seen I was only comatose. I woke up a week ago." Her lips curled up into a grin, "Are you sure you've won, Yami? Because from where I'm standing... you just lost."

Yami twitched, looking infuriated, "You broke his heart."

In the doorway, Jack covered his face, peeking between his fingers. He looked ready to run, if need be.

"I'm a grifter. We break a lot of hearts." Jasmine walked into the middle of the room, "But what I had with Dark Heart... that was real." Jasmine exhaled sharply, "You have two months."

"Come again?"

Yasmina stepped forward now, "The trials start two weeks from now: Luke's and Jasmine's. Or have you forgotten?"

"I keep myself out of other people's affairs." Yami deadpanned.

"Well this time... you don't have a choice. If you really wanna know why Jasmine did what she did, come to the trials. You'll find out there. Come on, sis." Yasmina turned to the door, Jasmine trailing after her, "We need to get you prepped for the trial." Yasmina leveled Damian and Jack with a look, "Get Yami to the trials, weather you have to drag him there, or knock him out. Got it?"

"Nope." Jack deadpanned.

"Will do." Damian nodded.

Yasmina nodded, sent one more glare Yami's way, and then walked off.

* * *

"Ryo!" The man looked up as Nefertiti rushed into his office, "You're not gonna believe this!"

Ryo raised an eyebrow, "Depends on what it is, Agent Witch. Tell me."

"Rago's been arrested."

Ryo's pen broke in his hand, ink splattering his hand. He looked up, sharply, "Come again?"

Nefertiti nodded, "He's in the basement holding cell, being watched by Ash, Chris, and Aguma."

"Where was he found?"

"In Tokyo, prowling on Caspian's old hideout."

"Who grabbed him?"

"Tyler and Aguma. They'd gone back to list a few more of Caspian's valuables, to freeze his assets, as you know." Nefertiti inhaled, "Tyler saw Rago first, shouted to Aguma, and then went after him. Rago got him good, broke his arm, but Aguma arrived in time to take him out."

Ryo nodded, "Good." He shared a look with Nefertiti, "How soon do you think Julian can get the case of assualt on a spy in front of the same judge that's doing Caspian and his crew's trial?"

"Way ahead of you, Ryo. Julian's preparing now. They go to court tomorrow afternoon. And-" Neferiti cut off Ryo, "If Rago get's cleared on that charge... Julian knows what to have Aguma arrest him for right there in the courtroom."

Ryo raised an eyebrow, but didn't question Nefertiti's words.

She was the crafty one, after all.

* * *

"Docket ending 145, the People vs Rago Black. Charges: first degree assault of a spy."

"How does the defendant plead?" Micheal Kadoya, the judge, asked.

"Not guilty, your honor." Rago said.

"What's the people on bail?"

"Remand, your honor." Julian said, "The defendant assaulted a spy, resisted arrest, and he's also connected to Caspian McKandless."

"Your honor, this is ridiculous." Rago's lawer said, "Mr. Konzern is grasping at straws."

"It's not grasping at straws when your client is associated with a man who's known to be the leader of a sex trafficking ring?" Julian shot back.

Micheal looked contemplative, before saying, "Bail is set at fifty thousand, cash or bond."

Julian turned to Aguma, who was moving for the door, "Arrest him." Aguma turned, surprised at the order. Julian turned to the judge, "Your honor, my detective is here to re- arrest the defendant."

"On what charge?!" Rago's lawyer exclaimed.

"The murder of Bao Blackheart."

"You honor, this is a blatant attempt to unlawfully detain my client."

"Save it, counselor." Micheal said, "Believe it or not, but I'm good friends with the Blackheart family. I'll see you both in arraignment."

Micheal banged the gavel, and Aguma moved to put the handcuffs on Rago.

"You can't prove I killed the little bitch." Rago scoffed, "And the dead can't talk."

Aguma simply tightened the cuffs and responded with a cold and clipped voice, "Rago Black, you're under arrest for murder."

* * *

"Hey Ryo." Chris said, "How ya doing?"

"Good, thank you, Chris." Ryo said, and looked among the teams of spies in the room. He was thanking every god there was that they had all been here for the upcoming trials, because it made it that much easier with what he was about to do. He shared a look with Nefertiti, who stood near the wall, "Everyone take a seat."

"Why?" Tyler asked.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?" Nero questioned.

Ryo crossed his arms as the spies took their seats at the long table.

"About a year ago, I made a decision that affected everyone in this room. As you all know, Bao had extensive internal and external injuries." Ryo paused.

"Hypersensitivity, broken ribs, sprained muscles, several months of therapy would have been needed..." Nefertiti listed off.

"But Nefertiti was able to stabilize him, and airlifted him from Himitsu City to Shanghai."

A ripple of shock ran through the room, as everyone looked at each other, as if asking each other if they'd heard right, before focusing back on Ryo.

"His identity was strictly need to know. He stayed there until he was well enough to travel, and he was put into the witness protection program. He was reassigned to London, where he was given several identities, none of which we had access to." Ryo said.

"... He's alive?" Helios asked, shocked. "No... I was right there, in the room with him when we did the rescue mission. I mean, I didn't say anything, but how is there any way..."

"We buried him. I carried the coffin. I should know!" Aguma exclaimed.

Ryo looked around the room as everyone began talking at once. He raised a hand, and they quieted.

"As I said, it was my decision, and I take full responsibility for it. If you have an issue about it, direct to me." Ryo said, as he heard a few sets of footsteps coming towards the door on the far side of the room.

"Issues?" Aguma asked, "Yeah, I got issues! Did you even _think_ to tell Kuro?! She went MIA, the minute she could! All because of your stupid decision not to mention a damn thing to anyone about this!"

"I knew." Nefertiti said, quietly.

"You don't count!"

"Oi, don't you yell at my sister!" Nile snapped at Aguma, "She was doing her job!"

Ryo's eyes met gold ones on the other side of the room.

"Should I even be here? Looks like a fight's about to break out, and I can't stand loud noises."

It was like everyone got a jolt of electricity, and there was a collection of everyone standing up so fast the chairs toppled over as they turned to look in the doorway.

"Oh my god..." Tsubasa whispered, "Ryo's not lying..."

"You're alive!" Came the collection of exclaimations.

The redhead in the doorway twitched his head a little, but he offered a smile, "Yeah. I'm back."

* * *

Bao got hugs from everyone, a few punches to the arms, a hair ruffle that was a bit too rough from Christina, and all while he was trying to talk.

"I am really sorry, guys. There... There literally wasn't a day that went by that I didn't..." Bao trailed off as a shadow fell over him and he was forced to look up at his best friend, "You didn't deserve that... And I'm so, so sorry."

Aguma stared down at him for a long moment, before he grabbed Bao in a hug, and then punched him in the shoulder hard enough to send him stumbling back.

"Ow!"

"Alright, who do I need to knock out?"

Everyone jumped as a woman with dark brown hair and steel- violet eyes appeared out of thin air. She was dressed in dark jeans, a sweatshirt hoodie, and black sandals with a tall heel to them. There was a gun strapped to her left hip.

Chao Xin exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Who do I need to knock out?" The woman repeated.

Bao rubbed his shoulder, "No one, Xue. I'm fine. Just a 'happy to see you' punch. Nothing serious."

"Debatable on the 'happy to see you'." Aguma said, "You and I are gonna have a long talk, my friend."

"That was a threat." The woman said, and she glared up at Aguma, "I suggest you calm down unless you find yourself on the ground and seeing stars."

Aguma eyed the girl, "Uh... a tiny girl like you? Trying to take me down- _YEOW!_ "

Bao facepalmed as the woman suddenly flipped Aguma headfirst to the tile floor. There was a split second of silence, before Tyler said, "Let me guess: your protection detail?"

Bao closed his eyes and nodded, before speaking.

"Everyone, meet my agent, Xue Wang. Ex- spy, military training, current Witness Protection agent, and my handler. Also..." Bao huffed out a breath of air, "She's Chao Xin's cousin."

* * *

 **Bada-bing... bada-boom. Seriously, did no one see this coming? I DID IT WITH SECRETS KILL, HELLO! Only one person called it, and that was Warrior. *round of applause is heard* Take a bow, my friend. You won a free virtual cookie. *gives you cookie***

 **Okay, guys, newsflash: I'll try to update tomorrow, but... I have a test in Economics, Math, and Physics tomorrow. All of my flipping math classes, basically... Can I just skip school tomorrow? I would prefer that to math... What I'm trying to say is... It may be Saturday before I update. Just letting you guys now.**

 **Oh well... leave a review!**


	23. Just Waiting On The World

"I want a deal."

Julian paused as Ziggurat's words, "Come again?"

"I want a deal." Ziggurat repeated, watching Julian step further into his holding cell.

Julian sat in the chair opposite of the man, "What are you offering?"

"I'll reverse the affects of the arrangement system on your friends, in exchange for a lesser sentence of 20 years with parole."

Julian hesitated.

On one hand, Gingka, Ryuto, Sora, and Chao Xin would be back to normal: Everyone would be happy. On the other hand, Ziggurat was evading the death sentence and would get out as an old man- old, but still evil.

"Let me consult Ryo-" Julian started to stand.

"You can't consult anyone." Ziggurat grabbed Julian's wrist, "This decision has to be made by you and you alone."

Julian stared at him, before slowly sitting back down.

Ziggurat released his hold, and smirked, "So, Julian. What's your decision?"

* * *

"I can't do it." Luke whispered, sitting on Wales' bed, arms wrapped around his knees, which were drawn up to his chest, "I can't face him! Or her! Either of them!"

"Lucas..." Wales said, "Don't you want them to go to jail?"

"Yes!" Luke nodded, "I can't face them! I- I'm scared."

"You- Agent Frost- scared?" Wales asked, sitting on the bed next to his brother, "You're the mastermind of masterminds! You think fast, you're smart, and God knows your tongue can get you in and out of trouble faster than a bolt of lightning." Wales paused, "Plus, everyone you know, some of the best fighters in the world, will be in that room. You'll literally be the safest person on the planet."

Luke was silent for a long moment, before he sighed, "You're right." He uncurled himself from his ball, and stood up, "Come on. Let's get this over with."

* * *

"Mr. McKandless, do you remember the events of the day you were supposedly kidnapped by my clients?"

Luke stared at his parents' lawyer, a man by the name of Ryan Corl, before answering, "Yes."

"Can you describe, in detail, these events?"

Luke swallowed, "No."

"I'm sorry? Why can't you?"

"I... don't remember much. I was knocked out."

"You were knocked out? From behind, or up front?"

Luke sighed, "From behind."

"So," Ryan paced in front of the witness stand, "What you're saying is, that for all you know, it wasn't my clients that kidnapped you!"

"No, that's not true. I know it was them." Luke shot back.

"How?! How do you know it was them?! You just say, you had no idea if it was my clients- your parents- who kidnapped you!"

"Your honor!" Julian stood up, "He's badgering!"

"Refrained, your honor." Ryan said, "No further questions."

He went back to sit at the table with Caspian and Alyssa, but was stopped by Luke's voice.

"I woke up, tied up." Luke said, "The first thing I thought was if I would make it out alive." Luke inhaled, shakily, "I was blindfolded and gagged. I couldn't see, couldn't speak, couldn't move- but I could _hear._ And I heard everything your _clients_ were saying: how'd they make me suffer, what pain they'd put me through. I was _terrified_."

Luke whispered, "I try not to remember, but that doesn't stop the nightmares from haunting me _every single night._ "

Ryan smirked, "You spin a very good yarn, Agent, but just like before- you have no solid proof as to who kidnapped you. Fear, after all, can cloud a mind and make you think that who has you, isn't who you really think."

Ryan sat down, and smirked over at Julian.

Julian picked up the glass of water near him, took a swallow, then stood up.

"Lucas... is it true you suffered abuse at the hands of your father when you were a child?"

Luke closed his eyes, "Yes."

"What type of abuse?"

"Physical, emotional, sometimes mental."

"Did you suffer any sexual abuse?"

"That was the worst of it." Luke whispered.

"Was it only you who suffered this abuse?"

"No."

"Who else do you know that suffered?"

"My brother."

"Wales McKandless, correct?"

"Your honor," Ryan stood up, "What do any of these questions have to do with my clients?"

"Your honor, if you will let me finish, I think you'll see exactly why they pertain to Mr. Cole's clients." Julian said.

"I'll allow it." Micheal said, "Continue, Mr. Konzern."

"Thank you." Julian turned back to Luke, "Wales McKandless, he's your brother, correct?"

"Yeah." Luke nodded.

"Is he in the courtroom today?"

"He is."

"Can you point him out for the jury?"

Luke pointed to Wales, who sat in the front row, in between Sophie and Nero. Wales was giving Julian a confused look.

"You're honor, I'm putting in a formal request to call Wales McKandless to the stand for the People's defense." Julian said.

"Your honor-" Ryan started, but was cut off.

"I'll allow it." Micheal said, "But for now, recess. We'll continue this at 9 A.M tomorrow, staring with Wales McKandless on the stand."

Micheal banged his gavel, and the court adjorned.

* * *

"You dyed your hair."

Bao looked up from his book, to see Christina standing over him, "What?"

"Coincidentally, that single lock of black hair is also always the one that's braided, on the underside of your hair. You'd have to really be looking to see it, because you hide it so well, but it's there.

Bao reached up, running his fingers over said braid, which currently sat on his shoulder, "Your point?"

"Do you do it to remind yourself of what you put Kuro through, while you were gone? We of Team Blackheart always listened to her when she talked about you, and she always told us what she'd do for you whenever you didn't feel well as a little kid."

Bao flinched, and dropped the braid in his hand like it'd burned him. He muttered, "She told you that, huh?"

"Yes." Christina sat on the floor in front of him, "She did. What else did she do?"

Bao stared down at the blonde, a fellow thief, before sighing and closing his book.

"You wouldn't believe it unless you caught her, but she had the greatest singing voice a person could have." Bao said, "She sang anytime I wasn't well, and as a kid... that was a lot."

"She doesn't seem like the singing type..." Christina commented.

"Not the Kuro you know." Bao shook his head, "But before she and I got in that fight... The Kuro I knew would do anything to ensure someone's happiness."

"She still did." Christina said, "Er, did anything to make sure someone else was happy." Her eyes clouded over, "I'm sorry, by the way."

Bao stared at her, "For what?'

"It was my fault for what you went through with Rago. I... I was the one that was supposed to bring you in, to take you out- whatever you wanna call it. But I couldn't. I was afraid of how Kuro would react if she found out."

Bao closed his eyes tight, legs drawing to his chest, and arms wrapping around them, his fists clenching hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.

"Bao?"

He didn't respond.

"Bao?"

"Give him a minute." Christina stood up sharply when Xue appeared behind her, "He has these moments from time to time."

"These moments?" Christina asked.

"Flashbacks. PTSD's a real bitch, you know." Xue's voice was low, "He's still going through therapy. Granted, he's down to one session a week, but he still has his moments." Xue frowned, "Sometimes, he thinks he's there and not here."

"I see." Christina said.

Xue stepped by the blonde, and sat down on the couch next to Bao. Christina watched as Xue laid a hand on Bao's arm.

"Bao?" Xue asked, softly, "Can you hear me?"

A long moment passed, before Bao whispered, "Yeah... I can hear you."

"Where are you at, red?"

"... It's dark... I can't see..."

"Focus on my voice then." Xue shrugged, "And when you feel ready, open your eyes." She paused, "Does touching you hurt?"

"No." Was Bao's response.

"Good." Xue said, "Whenever you're ready, red. Open your eyes."

Christina watched this entire scene go down. She watched as Bao sat as still and stiff as a rock for several more minutes, before his eyes opened. They were slightly unfocused, like he was still somewhere he wasn't supposed to be, before they landed on the Christina.

"Sorry about that." Bao whispered, still curled up in the ball he was in, "I didn't mean to scare you. It just... happens, if someone says his name."

"My fault for being so insensitive." Christina said, "Looks like Xue's got you though. I need to go now. I'll catch up with you later."

Christina turned, and walked out the door. She walked aimlessly, taking turns and stairs through the building, before finally coming to a stop in a random room. She shut the door behind her, leaned against it, and felt a sharp sob rise of her chest.

 _It's all my fault..._ Christina thought, crying, _Because of me... Bao went through hell, and still does because of those flashbacks... Why couldn't I have just done my job right?!_

* * *

"Here he is, Agent Phoenix." Xue said, leading Bao into the man's office.

"Thank you Xue. You're dismissed." Ryo waved a hand, and Xue stepped out into the hallway, the door shutting behind her with a decisive _CLICK!_

The woman sighed, leaning against the wall. She toyed with the end of her hoodie sleeves, before reaching into her back pocket for her phone. She typed in a number, stared at it, then clicked the CALL button. It rang five times before someone picked up.

"What?" A raspy, female voice snapped.

"Agent Diamond, here." Xue sighed, "Come to Japan. Rago's fixing to go on trial. Thought you might want to be here."

There was a low, dark laugh.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

 **And... done. With this chapter. Not the story! I still have several chapters to go! So... what'd you think of this chapter?**

 **Leave a review!**


	24. Words Cut Deeper Than Blades

"How in the name of _God_ do the bad guys manage to get the same lawyer?!" Wales demanded, watching across the hallway as Ryan Cole conversed with Rago Black.

"Because he has a case record of ninety five percent." Julian said.

"Translation for those of us not studying law or a lawyer?" Aguma asked.

"He's almost never lost a case."

There was a dead silence over the group.

"Well, fuck." Xue finally sighed.

* * *

"Agent Hades-" Ryan started.

"Blackheart." Bao interrupted.

Ryan paused, "Beg pardon?"

"It's Mr. Blackheart. That's what I wish for you to address me by." Bao said.

"Mr. Blackheart." Ryan corrected himself, obviously peeved at being interrupted. Behind Ryan, Julian took a sip of water to hide his smirk.

Bao was a thief, through and through, but his sister was Kuro. And Kuro could read people like a book- you had to, to be able to be a mastermind, so you could plan around people's weaknesses. That being said, Bao had probably already picked up on Ryan's tells before the man began to question him.

"You said you were kidnapped by my client?" Ryan asked.

"I wasn't kidnapped by him." Bao said, looking at Ryan, and determiningly not looking anywhere _near_ Rago.

Julian glanced over at the black haired man, who was glaring at Bao with such hate and anger it was a wonder Bao wasn't already dead- that was, if looks could kill...

"Who kidnapped you, then?" Ryan asked.

"Johannes- Agent Lynx." Bao said, "And Reiji- Agent Venom."

"I see. So what _did_ my client do to you?" Ryan questioned, walking closer to the witness stand.

"Tortured me, for almost over a week."

"Can describe, what he did to you, as torture?"

"I died four times." Bao said, "That's how bad the torture was."

"Let me rephrase my question: What did my client do exactly to you as torture?"

Bao's jaw clenched, and he looked away.

"Your honor," Ryan looked at Micheal, "Tell the witness to answer the question."

"Mr. Blackheart." Micheal said.

Bao sighed, "He... It's hard to explain, except by saying he took away all my senses."

"What specifically did he do though?" Ryan's voice rose, "Can you not tell us?! What did my client do?!"

Bao tilted his head down a little, reaching a hand up to one of his ears and rubbing it.

"Your honor." Julian stood up, "My witness has sensitive hearing. If Mr. Cole would be so kind as to lower his voice, he'll answer."

"A warning, Mr. Cole. Watch yourself." Micheal said.

"Of course your honor." Ryan turned back to Bao, "Answer the question, Mr. Blackheart."

"I don't know what he put on me." Bao said, "But whatever it was, it disoriented me, made me extremely sensitive to heat, cold, and touch. He used it to his advantage: he poured hot wax on me. He used that same wax to seal my eyes shut, poured it in my ears to deafen me. He used the stuff he did, put it in my mouth so my sense of taste was messed up."

"Anything else?"

Bao swallowed, his voice dropping to a whisper. Whatever he said, niether Julian nor Ryan caught it, but Julian did have an idea as to what he said.

"Repeat that, Mr. Blackheart." Ryan requested.

"He raped me." Bao repeated, louder.

"Oh." Ryan said, completely coldheartedly, "Are you sure? I mean, you said it yourself: you couldn't feel a thing during your time with my client."

"I'm going by what my medical file says." Bao said, "And I felt the after effects of it, just like any rape victim would."

Behind him, Julian heard Luke mutter, "He's not wrong there."

Wales hissed, "Shh!"

Julian focused back on the trial.

"What else, Mr. Blackheart? Or is there anything else?"

"There is, but I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Ryan asked, "You do understand you're under oath, and therefore can't lie, deny, or not say anything, right."

"I do, but-" Bao cut off suddenly, eyes widening.

Behind Julian, he heard the courtroom door opening. Confused, Julian turned, and nearly felt his breath leave him like a kick to the chest would do.

She was thinner than the last time anyone had seen her, dark bags under her eyes, skin paler than ever, and hair cut short, but there was no doubt.

It was Kuro Blackheart.

"Mr. Blackheart, answer the question!" Ryan requested, completely oblivious.

Bao's eyes were unfocused, and Julian knew he had to act.

"Your honor, may I request a quick recess?" Julian asked.

"What for?" Ryan turned to look at Julian, "We're in the middle of a trial!"

"For my witness' well being. He's obviously distressed by Mr. Cole's questioning." Julian said.

"Oh, bullshit!" Ryan exclaimed, and behind him, Bao flinched a little.

"Language, Mr. Cole." Micheal said, but his eyes were on the woman standing by the door, "Recess, until 8 A.M tomorrow."

Micheal banged his gavel, Ryan snarled, and Bao jumped.

But Julian knew that the real storm was only about to begin.

* * *

They met back at the WWSA, in one of the many lounges.

"So, who wants a drink?" Xue chuckled, nervously, to break the stiff silence that had begun as Kuro and Bao stared each other down.

"Cut the crap, Xue." Kuro broke the staring contest, her expression livid, "You knew, didn't you? That he was alive?"

Xue blinked, and said, "What on earth are you talking about? I had no idea-"

"There's a reason you're a hitter and not a grifter, Xue." Kuro snarled, voice low, "Answer my question."

Xue made a sound between a gulp and a squeak, "Yes."

"How?"

Xue shifted on her feet.

" _How_?"

"I've been his handler for the last year." Xue said, quickly, "Under Ryo's orders, and Nefertiti's been his therapist for the last year too."

"Way to drag me into this!" Nefertiti groaned.

Kuro's eyes went from Xue, to Ryo, to Nefertiti, before she turned to Bao and said in a flat voice, "You died."

"You ran." Bao shot right back.

"You coded in the ambulance three times, according to Tyler and Helios." Kuro continued, "And then in the hospital, right in front of my eyes." She whipped on everyone, "Who the fuck's idea was it not to tell my he was alive?!"

"It was my idea, Kuro." Ryo said, solemnly, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?!" Kuro screeched, "That doesn't solve the hell I've gone through in the last year!"

"Lower your voice!" Xue hissed back, as Bao winced and covered his ears.

"Go fuck yourself!" Kuro snarled.

Xue was struggling to keep her voice down, but her voice was acidic as she snapped, "You either keep yourself in check, or get out."

"Get out?" Kuro scoffed, "Why would I?"

"Because Bao's all but having a panic attack right now!" Xue said, harshly, "Thanks to what you- know- who put him through, he's got sensitive hearing, sensitive touch, taste, and sight! And you're affecting his hearing as of this very moment!"

Kuro turned around again, saw the way Bao was backing away from the two feuding girls while having his eyes shut and ears covered, and then turned back to Xue, asking coldly, "Why do you care?"

"I'm his handler." Xue replied, voice low and dangerous, "As his handler, it's my duty to make sure he's comfortable. And right now, you're causing him discomfort."

"I'm his sister." Kuro growled.

"Right now?" Xue cocked an eyebrow, "You're a threat. And since you're being a threat, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, or I'm throwing you out. Now that's one choice. The other choice is you can control yourself and we can all be civil."

Kuro glared at Xue, breathing between her teeth. Finally, she snarled, turned on her heel, and stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

There was a long moment of silence, before Nefertiti voiced what everyone was saying.

"Well that could've gone better."

* * *

 **Ba-la-la-la-la! How's that for a sibling reunion? Not very happy, I know, but there is method to my madness!**

 **Leave a review!**


	25. A Story That'll Shake Your Bones

"Ryo?"

The redhead looked up at the sound of Julian's voice. The young man was edging into Ryo's office, looking a little worried.

"Ah, Julian!" Ryo said, cheerfully, "How did the the continuation of yesterday's trial against Rago go today?"

"Closing arguements are tomorrow morning, starting at eight." Julian answered, and shifted on his feet.

"Something wrong, Julian?" Ryo asked.

"I... Well... I'm not sure." Julian sighed, and he moved to sit in the chair in front of Ryo's desk, "Tomorrow afternoon is the first part of Ziggurat's trial, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I do." Ryo nodded, "Kidnapping, attempted murder, brainwashing..."

"I cut him a deal." Julian blurted out, suddenly.

Ryo paused, then cocked his head, "Come again?"

"He swore he'd reverse the arrangement on Gingka, Ryuto, and Sora. And... I remember it was only pure luck that we managed to get Chao Xin back to normal, and we tried it with the others, and it didn't work, and-" Julian cut off as Ryo raised his hand.

"I understand, Julian." Ryo said, softly, before asking, "What was the sentence?"

"Twenty years with parole." Julian said, quietly.

Ryo nodded, "He'll be old when he gets out."

"But still evil."

"A risk we'll have to take." Ryo sighed, "God knows I'll probably be gone by then and either Tsubasa or Gingka will have taken over WWSA by then."

Julian shook his head, "I wish I didn't have to do it, Ryo, but-"

"We get three of our best agents back. Two people get family back. One team gets their agent back." Ryo said, "It's for the best Julian, trust me. You did the right thing."

Julian looked up, eyes full of uncertainty, "Did I?"

* * *

"Yes!" Xue laughed, "You did it, red! You stood up to him in court! You were great!" She paused as her wristwatch beeped. She glanced at the time, "Shoot, I have a meeting to get to with Ryo. I'll be back in about an hour."

"Where is it gonna be?" Christina asked.

"Across town." Xue said, "I'll see guys later!"

Xue walked out of the room, and the moment the door shut, the talking commenced again.

"You sassed that Ryan guy better than I was mentally." Nero laughed, and his voice changed slightly, " _Repeat the question. I may not be able to hear all that well, but that doesn't mean you have to whisper. Not like you're the one on trial here..._ "

"He does not sound like that." Aguma deadpanned from across the room.

"He does to!" Nero shot back.

"No, he doesn't."

" _Dame un descanso_." In the background, Tithi facepalmed, looking annoyed, "You're idiots- don't start fighting over something so small."

Next to him, Dynamis gave him a look, "Are you kidding me right now? Do you _remember_ what you were like when you were young? You made the biggest deal out of everything!"

Tithi growled a little, "I thought we agreed never to speak of it again."

"You said that. I never did."

"... fucking mastermind."

"Language!"

"I'm twenty years old! I can do and say whatever the hell I want!"

"It's like watching an old married couple..." Yuu said, watching the exchange.

"Like it isn't with you and Tsubasa almost every day?" Madoka asked, dryly.

Yuu and Tsubasa blinked, before yelling at the same time, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"What do you think?" Madoka rolled her eyes.

"Madoka!"

"Bao, you okay?" Christina's voice was lower than the other occupants of the room- granted, they were talking in good fun, but their voices were loud.

Bao was blinking rapidly, and from what Christina had learned in the last week or so, she knew Bao blinking rapidly was a bad sign.

"Too loud... It's loud here." Bao said, waving his fingers a little.

Christina felt a small bout of panic rise up in her throat, and she cut in front of Bao, blocking his sight of the scene, "Bao, hey, focus on me." She reached a hand out, as if to touch him, but thought better about it. She didn't know how he would react with her, but she knew how'd he react with Xue...

Damn it, where was that woman when you needed her?!

"Bao, focus on me for a minute. If you can hear me, cover your ears?" Christina asked.

For a long moment, Bao just kept blinking, before doing as asked.

Christina then whipped around, put two of her fingers in her mouth, and let out a shrill whistle. It worked, as everyone hushed up to cover their ears, before looking at Christina with similar expressions of confusion.

"Quiet all of you." Christina's voice was low, but firm, "Your voices are causing Bao to have a panic attack."

"Then... where is he?" Nero asked, raising an eyebrow.

Christina whipped around, let out a curse, then turned to the group, "Spread out, let's see if we can find him."

* * *

Kuro was walking through the hallways of the WWSA building, twirling a knife between her fingers. The only sound to her ears was the sound of her boots thumping on the tile floor.

Kuro paused when she heard the sound of barely there footsteps behind her. She whipped around, sliding into a fighting stance, knife up and at the ready.

The sound of a door slamming reached her ear, from around the corner she'd just come from around. Kuro blinked, and she lowered her weapon. She walked down the hallway, and turned the corner. She looked at the doors, before noting one wasn't completely shut, and the inside was dark.

Kuro frowned, and walked over. She pushed the door open, flipped the light on, and was greeted with a yelp of pain and surprise.

Kuro let her eyes catch sight everything in the room- it was a small closet, really- before she turned the lights back out. An anxious thought crossed her mind, _Oh, fuck, I'm really not ready to deal with this..._

Kuro stepped out into the hallway, taking several deep breaths, before she put her knife into the sheath in her boot. She pulled her phone out, and turned her flashlight on it's dimmest setting, before opening the closet door, stepping in, and shutting it behind her.

The flashlight's beam fell over her brother, who sat in the furthest corner of the room, curled in on himself.

"Couldn't pick a better place to hide, l'il bro?" Kuro grumbled, stepping over a bucket and ducking under a mop. She bounced a little to keep her balance, before moving to sit down a few inches away from Bao, "What's wrong?"

Bao didn't answer, just sat where he was, quiet and shivering.

"Didn't Xue say something about this being the side effects of what Ra- um, what's- his- name did to you?" Kuro asked, then answered that, "Yeah, I can see that. You're sensitive to everything but smell, aren't you? Course you are, I was right there. I saw what was wrong. Wax in your ears, over your eyes... hell, you had that oily- pasty stuff all over your skin and in your mouth. And that burned like hell, I remember that."

Kuro leaned her head back on the wall behind her, closing her eyes. Images from just over a year ago, images Kuro thought she'd buried, surfaced to play behind her closed eyelids.

Kuro opened her eyes.

"I can't imagine what you went through in the last year. Nightmares, and therapy, I'm sure." Kuro muttered, voice low, "I know what I went through. I didn't... I didn't really look after myself all that well."

Silence filled the room. Kuro jumped as Bao croaked out, "What did you do?"

Kuro looked over at Bao. Her brother had his head laid on his arms, sideways, looking at Kuro. His eyes were unfocused, but his shaking had ceased.

Kuro swallowed, and leaned back again. She closed her eyes, and started to talk, the story of the last year pouring out of her.

* * *

 **Tithi's words, as used by Google Translate: Give me a break.**


	26. Lost Girl

_Kuro had no idea where she was. She'd grabbed a flight to somewhere, and as she stepped out of the airport's gates, she was glad to see that it was a somewhat peaceful looking place._

 _She looked around, and noticed a sign. She squinted her eyes, tilted her head, and read it. It looked like Russian, but..._

 _'Georgian?' Kuro thought, 'I'm in Georgia?' She shrugged, and turned to walk down the street, 'Fine. So long as I'm far away from Japan, I'm fine... I'm fine.'_

* * *

"I thought that for a few weeks." Kuro said, softly, "I thought I was fine. But every time I went to sleep, or even closed my eyes, I saw you. And what's- his- face. Sometimes... sometimes, you were dead. Other times, I was watching you being tortured, and I couldn't do anything to help you...

"About the second month, I went downhill pretty fast."

* * *

 _The bass resounded in her temples, the flashing lights bright against Kuro's eyes. The nightclub was alive with heated bodies and thrumming pulses, and Kuro welcomed it._

 _She tilted her head back, the alcohol going down her throat. It burned, but Kuro ignored it._

 _She waved at the barteneder, and he brought the bottle. He gave her a sorrowful look, and decided on just setting the bottle in front of her._

* * *

"I was drunk nearly ninety percent of the time." Kuro said, "Sometimes I still get drunk. It is- _was_ \- the only way to get your face out of my mind, if I blacked out. But that lead to other problems... Fights, drunken one night stands... Hell, probably more than half of them weren't even consensual."

Bao blinked, once, at her, "Do you think you need to go see Nefertiti-"

"No." Kuro bristled, "I... Well... maybe."

"You don't sound very convincing of yourself. What's holding you back?" Bao asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Kuro inhaled, shakily, before sighing.

"About six months ago..."

* * *

 _Kuro stared at the test in her hands. Two pink lines..._

 _Positive._

 _She was pregnant? How in the hell...?_

 _Kuro let her head drop into her hands._

 _'There's no way I can raise a kid right now... Not with the way I am', she thought. 'But I can't abort... that's... no. Abortion is not an option.'_

 _She inhaled, her body shuddering._

 _She couldn't do it... She couldn't do it..._

* * *

Kuro didn't miss the way Bao's eyes fell to her stomach, or the flicker of confusion on his face.

Kuro chuckled, bitterly, "The life of a spy isn't easy. Especially for a woman spy. I was four months in..."

* * *

 _The wind was cool, but not cold. Kuro slipped her hands into her jacket pockets. It was night time, the moon was full, and the stars shining._

 _It was peaceful, and Kuro was relaxed for the first time in forever. Her stomach, just starting to show, and Kuro smiled softly, relaxing more._

 _The footsteps were loud, but they were Kuro's first clue. She whipped around, startled-_

 _And went stumbling backwards as a fist met her jaw._

 _Caught off guard, Kuro shook her head, dazed. She slid to the left as her attacker- just a teenage kid- laughed, and moved to strike her again._

 _"Come on, lady." The kid showed off a yellow toothed grin, and Kuro winced at the smell of alcohol on his breath. She hadn't touched a drop since she'd found out about being pregnant, and the smell in of itself nearly knocked her off her feet, "How about I show you a good time?"_

 _"If your idea of a good time is beating up a pregnant woman," Kuro growled, dodging another punch, "Then I'm gonna have to say no."_

 _"Aw, bullshit!" The kid laughed, "You ain't pregnant! You don't look it!"_

 _Kuro felt more annoyance than anger, thinking, 'I'm only in the beginning of my second trimester, idiot.'_

 _Before she could voice that, however, the kid got in a lucky shot: a swift kick to her stomach._

 _Kuro yelped, and stumbled backwards, hunching over, arms immeadiatly wrapping around herself._

 _Her attacker took the moment of weakness to launch into another attack, laughing as he descended on Kuro with a rain of punches and kicks._

 _Kuro fell to the ground, curling up in pain._

 _Please... please... I can't deal with another loss... Please..._

* * *

"You lost the kid, anyways, didn't you?" Bao asked.

Kuro laughed, sharp and only once, "Yeah. Spent about a month in the hospital because of some stupid brat." She sighed, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have been out at night, yet I was."

"Do you blame yourself for everything?" Bao asked, suddenly.

Kuro blinked, and turned her head to look at Bao, "What do you mean?"

"You blame yourself for the miscarriage. You blame yourself for what happened to me. You blame yourself for not giving your team a better life... Is there anything you don't blame yourself for?"

Kuro thought about it, "I don't blame myself for the life you lead."

Bao looked confused, "What?"

"Even at a young age, I knew you were gonna be a spy. What profession... well, that was what always tripped me up. You stole my stuff, hid it away like the little thief you are. And then, you were always coming up schemes and plans, even as a little kid. Like a mastermind." Kuro's voice became softer, "Like me."

"I always looked up to you." Bao said, quietly. He sighed, "I miss the old days."

"Old days?"

"You know- when we were kids, and you were always looking after me, when mom and dad weren't. You took care of me, and we watched each other's backs." Bao sighed, "What caused us to turn into enemies, Kuro?"

Kuro sighed, "I have no clue. We just... grew apart, I guess. Right now... I'm wishing we hadn't. Maybe... maybe if we had kept in contact, instead of letting whatever was wrong between us grow... maybe niether one of us would be fuck ups right now."

"Niether of you are fuck ups."

" _AHH!_ "

Both Bao and Kuro screamed and jumped, stumbling over the stuff in the closet and each other and out into the hallway. They landed in a heap at someone's feet.

"Ow..." Bao muttered, rubbing his head.

"What the hell- Chris?!" Kuro exclaimed, shooting to her feet, "Please tell me you weren't the one who scared us!"

"Nope. That one is me."

Kuro startled as Christina dropped down through the vent in the ceiling and landed beside her, "Sorry about that."

Kuro gave her a deadpan look, "Sure you are. You've never been sorry when you sneak up on people, I doubt you are now."

Christina shrugged, "I'm a thief, what do you expect? It's the-"

"Philosophy we live by." Bao finished, pulling himself to his feet, "Just, next time- maybe even the tiniest bit of noise, just so we know you're there. In case you haven't noticed, I don't take sudden things very well. I'm still adapting. Therapy and," Bao paused, as if searching for the right word, then said, "Stuff."

"I just need a warning in general for you." Kuro said.

"And you two are not messed up." Christina shot right back, "Every spy in the world has their own sob story, some worse than others. Nero Konzern? He was in a mental ward, because he was supposedly _psychotic_ , until he was about thirteen. Wales and Luke McKandless? Abused by their bastard parents. Chris?"

"Don't drag me into this-" Chris started.

"Ran from home, because our parents put too much pressure on him. Me? I ran because of that." Christina's eyes softened, "You guys aren't alone, and don't forget that. There are a lot of people who could probably relate to you, and it may not be the same person for the same thing, but I'm sure if you ask around... You'll find someone you can talk to."

* * *

 **So we see what Kuro went through during Bao's "death". Not what you were expecting, was it?**

 **Auburn: *meow***

 **Me: Excuse me guys. My kitten is seeking attention. Leave a review while I deal with this adorable little devil...**

 **Review!**


	27. We're All A Little Mad Here

Kuro sighed, sitting in the chair just behind Julian's table. Bao's next court day was here, which would probably last until lunch time. After lunch… Well, that was Luke's deal. Kuro really didn't plan on being here for when that happened, but Bao had gotten close to the other man- for reasons Kuro completely understood- and said he'd like to stay for moral support.

And since Xue was busy for the day… Kuro was with Bao as his protection detail. With Aguma.

Probably the one person Kuro did not want to be around right now.

Because Aguma was too good at reading one person: her.

Kuro tried to focus on the trial, she really did, but all she could seem to sense was Aguma's gaze on her the whole time. It didn't help he was sitting in one of the rows behind her, where he didn't just have a view of everyone in the courtroom, but her too.

Kuro huffed as Ryan went through some questions. She was good at tuning most of it out, but not all of it- she smirked and laughed a little as Bao answered in his sarcastic and snippy way. Even she had to admit, since she and he had reconciled, he seemed to be in a better mood.

Her smile faded into a frown as she remembered the case after lunch. Unintentionally, her eyes drifted over to Wales McKandless, who sat in the section on the other side of the room. He was focused solely on Ryan, eyes narrowed, fingers twitching. It was then Kuro remembered Ryan was representing all of those they'd arrested a year before.

Kuro pulled her phone out of her pocket, quickly typing out a message one would least expect her to ask:

 _ **Agent Nightwolf:**_ _Can you get me the court of record for when Luke was on trial last week?_

Kuro laid her phone in her lap, only glancing at it when the response came back:

 _ **Agent Fury:**_ _Sure thing. I'll have it for you by the end of the day._

* * *

Kuro blinked from watching some sitcom on the TV at the sound of a knock on her hotel door. She huffed a little as she swung her legs over the side of her bed and walked to the door. She looked through the peephole, before she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Nero Konzern stood there, his hands laid on either side of the doorframe, leaning on the frame, really, and holding a file in one of his hands.

"Took a little bit of work, but I got it." Nero flicked the file up.

"Thanks." Kuro moved to take it, but Nero pulled it away, "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Nero shot right back, "You should be more concerned about Bao, not Luke."

"... are we really doing this?" Kuro sighed, and opened the door further, "Get in here and I'll explain to you."

Nero eyed Kuro, warily, before shrugging and stepping through the door. Kuro took a quick glance in the hallway, before shutting the door and turning to face Nero, who had made himself comfortable on her bed.

"Have you noticed anything different about Luke since... last year?" Kuro waved her fingers, vaguely.

Nero pursed his lips and seemed to think about it, "Well... maybe a little."

"What?" Kuro asked, and she snatched the file from Nero before he could object.

"Well... It's no secret I was in an insane asylum for a while, before I became a spy." Nero said, slowly.

Kuro raised an eyebrow as she read through the court of records, silently asking for Nero to continue.

"I've... noticed some similarities between when I was... in there," Nero shifted a little, "And the way Luke has acted a little in the last year."

"Such as?"

"He talks to himself."

"So do I, but I'm not going crazy." Kuro shot right back.

" _Discutibile_." **(1)** Nero muttered, and Kuro raised her eyebrow again, "But what I'm talking about... it's like he's talking to someone."

Kuro bit her lower lip, "What else?"

"He seems to like a bit more bloodshed, when it comes to a fight." Nero said, "I noticed that just a few weeks after he got on his feet- any time he fought Klaus, Julian, me- hell, even Wales- in training, he wouldn't let up until someone called him out or held him back."

Kuro frowned deeper, "And Wales seriously never suspected anything?"

Nero scratched his eyebrow, "I think he did- still does- but... But he's Luke's brother. He could be denying it for his own sanity. I'm pretty sure that's how Julian was before I had my psychotic break."

Kuro nodded, and sighed, before turning and throwing herself on the bed beside Nero. Nero grunted as he was jostled, but he moved over at any rate. She held the papers of the file above her, eyes scanning over the papers. She blinked, then lowered her arms, and turned her head to look at Nero, who was on his phone.

"Can you do something for me?"

"Didn't I already?"

"Don't get smart alec-y with me. Answer my question."

"... depends on what it is. I can only do so much as a hacker."

"What I'm about to ask of you will be right up your alley then."

* * *

Luke closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the hard wall, heaving out a sigh.

 _Weak..._

Luke's eyes snapped open and he whirled around, growling sharply, "Stop it! I'm not!"

 _So you say... but how long can you fool yourself?_

Luke's eyes flickered over his room, the rooms felt like they were closing in on him, he couldn't breathe, couldn't get enough air-

There was a shimmer on the far side of Luke's room, and his eyes landed on the full body mirror on the opposite side of the room. At first, the figure was blurry, but then it came into focus, just enough for Luke to see who it was.

Ice blue eyes glinted in malicious intent, and a half crazed grin was what the young man saw first. Luke felt like he was suddenly drowning in eternal darkness, his eyes locked on the image of his father.

 _Need I remind you how you are when I put my hands on you?_

Luke whipped around, stepping back when that evil smile was all he saw. He shivered as he felt what was like a hand around the back of his neck. He closed his eyes tight, willing himself not to crumple- not to fall- to not collapse-

It didn't work, and Luke found himself crumpling into a ball on the floor, the darkness falling away from around him. He looked up, briefly, and he startled, scrambling backwards as icy eyes met his.

Those eyes, his father's eyes, wide with terror, moved away at the same rate he did.

 _Remember Lucas... My son... you're just like me... in more ways than you think._

* * *

 ***smirk* Leave a review?**

 **(1)- Italian for 'debatable'**


	28. One Word

Wales startled as Kuro appeared on his left- the woman had a strange way of appearing and disappearing like a-

 _Like a thief_ , Wales thought, wryly. _That's_ _ **my**_ _job..._

Kuro stood next to Wales, the both of them watching the group that had converged in the park, taking a day off from the stress of court.

"You know he's not as sane as he lets on?" Kuro finally spoke.

Wales blinked, and turned to Kuro, "What?"

"Luke. He's not as sane as you believe him to be. He's breaking down bit by bit, slowly in the last year, but more and more in the last few weeks, thanks to the trials." Kuro said.

Wales scowled, "Mind your business, Blackheart. I'm not telling you things about Bao, so why are you-"

Wales cut off as Kuro handed him a small tape recorder, about the size of a phone, "This'll give you something to think about. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Wales slowly took the device from Kuro's hand, eyeing her suspiciously, "What makes you think I'll listen to it?"

"You will. It's about Luke." Kuro said, simply, "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Wales watched as Kuro walked off, joining Bao on the park lawn.

* * *

"You're blocking my sun." Jasmine deadpanned, when a shadow fell over her, blocking the sun from shining on her closed eyelids.

When there was no response, she opened one eye, then both to make sure she wasn't seeing things, then shot to her feet quicker than the eye could follow.

"I didn't expect to see you until next week." Jasmine scowled.

"You're welcome!" Jasmine blinked, and turned to see Damian walking off, waving over his shoulder, "I got him here out of pure persuasion!"

"Kidnapping, he means." Yami deadpanned.

"There's a difference?" Jasmine scoffed and crossed her arms, scowling deeper.

"You should know- you're the grifter here, not me."

"Debatable." Jasmine said, dryly. She yawned, blinking against the sunlight. Frowning, she slipped the shades sitting on her head down over her nose.

Yami cocked his head, and Jasmine frowned deeper, "What?"

"Nightmares." Yami stated, simply, and Jasmine felt like her blood turned to ice, but she quickly snapped out of it.

"What is this, the one word game?" She asked, venomously.

"Isn't that how you and I always communicated... _Jazzie- girl_?"

Jasmine bristled at the knickname, her upper lip curling back into a snarl. Yami smirked.

"Fine." She sat down, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling up at Yami, "You wanna play some mind games, I'll take the challenge."

Yami eyed her, before slowly settling himself on the green across from Jasmine, legs crossed. He set his elbows on the side of his knees, interlocking his fingers and setting his chin on them. His expression was completely unreadable, a grade- A poker face.

"You remember how it works, don't you?" Yami asked, "I ask a question, you confine yourself to one word only in answer."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "Yes, I do."

"You remember why, don't you?"

"Truth is singular, lies are words. I remember, Yami. This was your little deal to interview me when D and I were a thing back then, to make sure I wasn't going to-"

"Backstab him, as too many others in his life had done." Yami finished, eyes going cold, "You got past me last time, and then you broke his heart. And we're here again, with this little game. So the game begins with this as your first question: How?"

Jasmine poked her tongue into the side of her cheek, thinking.

 _It wasn't that I never loved Dark Heart... I DID._ Jasmine thought, _The first time I met Yami, when we began our little games with each other, him with the one word test, and me with who stayed alive longer, I really did love Dark Heart... I still do. So the answer to this question is-_

"Love." Jasmine answered.

Yami cocked an eyebrow, "Love... it makes even the strongest person weak, you do know that? That's a rhetorical question-"

"You?" Jasmine ignored that last part, knowing full well that he would understand the meaning behind her question.

Sure enough, Yami smirked, "I am incapable of loving anyone- I'm the emotionless side of the one you claim to love. Two side of the same coin: One is capable of emotions, the other isn't."

"Lies." Jasmine drawled out, and Yami looked taken aback. He bit his lip, and tapped his thumbs together.

"He... and I... were different, once. But he more than I. He suffered losses at a young age, went through many more betrayals and more physical pain as the years went by. He and I both prefer isolation, to the outcome of pain's return." Yami said, "What is your response to this?"

Jasmine cocked her head, and answered in one word, "Me."

Yami's eyes narrowed, "You have not suffered the pain that Dark Heart has."

Jasmine's voice was barely above a whisper, "No?"

Yami stared at Jasmine, before speaking, "Perhaps you have... I was locked away in Dark Heart's mind when you went through what you did, and I don't actually know what happened to you when you were kidnapped. Answer me this Jasmine: What happened to you?"

"Torture."

"You believe you know what true torture is?"

"Mind."

Yami stared at her, and Jasmine stared right back, unaffected by the other man's gaze.

"True torture is of the mind, you're right there. It can affect you physically, and emotionally. But it's hard to overcome, not without a grounding point." Yami cocked his head again, "What was your grounding point?"

"None." Jasmine answered, truthfully, because she _hadn't_ had one. All she remembered, with the torture she had gone through was the pain. No matter what she had thought of, no matter what she had tried to use an escape from it... none of it had worked. She's always been brought back to reality with a sharp electric jolt or drill in her mouth.

God, _there_ was a reason to fear dentists...

But there was a reason for her answering that torture was of the mind- you could be tortured physically or emotionally, but none of it was on the mental level. Torture destroyed you from the inside out, and Jasmine could bet you could ask Bao and Chao Xin and Luke and they'd say the same thing.

Jasmine blinked as Yami snapped his fingers in front of her face. She refocused, frowning at the maniatic grin on his face.

"Here's a question for you, Jazzie- girl," Yami said, eyes glittering maliciously, "Why do you think your pain is on the level of Dark Heart's?"

Jasmine blinked, taken aback. Why did she think her pain was on Dark Heart's level? Was there a way she could answer that with one word...?

From the psycotic grin on Yami's face, Jasmine had to guess the answer was no...

But she'd never been one to back down from a challenge, and Jasmine sure as hell was going to come up with an answer.

Jasmine crossed her arms and legs, staring at Yami from behind her glasses- or, he thought she was. She had her eyes shut, thinking long and hard about an answer...

After several long moments, Jasmine opened her eyes, and pulled her sunglasses off her nose, slowly. She allowed a small, almost cryptic smile to cross her face.

Yami blinked, his grin disappearing.

Still smiling, although it had turned sad, Jasmine answered her question, her voice as soft as a fresh fallen snow.

"Forgiveness."


	29. Welcome To The Show

"How did we get hired to be _her_ protection detail...?" Violet grumbled to herself, crossing her arms and sulking in her chair.

Next to her, her cousin, Brandon, sweatdropped, "Um... Jasmine and Yasmina came to you, asked to talk, and when you heard Jasmine's story you forgave her?"

"... Sometimes I swear you're the brains of our team." Violet sighed.

"I am. I'm the hacker, aren't I?" Brandon smirked.

"Don't get cocky, hon." Brandon's girlfriend and partner, Randi Night appeared, behind the cousins, "Violet doesn't need you distracted on this assignment, now do she?"

"No, I don't." Team Midnight's leader sighed, and she paused, "How did you get lucky enough to be the McKandless' guard?"

"Because Klaus is watching the Konzerns, Sophie's on an assignment in Paris, and I'm only taxed with watching Luke. Wales can handle himself in a fight, in case you didn't know." Randi said, smirking.

"No, I didn't know." Violet blinked.

"Neither did I." Brandon admitted, "I guess that comes with having a father that was in the army?"

"An abusive father- get your facts right." Randi frowned, and Brandon shrunk in on himself.

Violet bit her tongue, and forced herself to look at the court doors opposite of her, where Jasmine Laize's part of the trial was currently going on. Violet hated being in crowded rooms, so she had opted to stay outside the courtroom, where she had a good view of who was coming in and out.

Brandon, being ever loyal to his cousin, had come with her to keep her from being bored.

Which, with Brandon, there never really was a dull moment. It was trouble enough with him. But whenever he was paired up with Randi and they both were bored...

Complete and utter chaos.

Violet sighed, and then turned to look up at Randi, "How's Luke doing, by the way?"

Randi barely hid a troubled look as she answered, "He's... coping. He's not at full stability yet, and I think the trials have really set him back a bit, but he's working his way there. But sometimes..."

"... sometimes what?" Brandon asked.

"I hear him talk to himself."

"So? Everyone does. Keeps most of us sane." Brandon said.

"He's not talking to himself though, is he?" Violet asked.

Randi tilted her head.

"He acts like he's actually talking to someone, doesn't he?"

Randi nodded, grimly, "He does, yes. And... I think... I think he's talking to his dad, when he talks to himself." Randi narrowed her eyes, "Hang on a sec... you act like you know exactly what I'm talking about. What's up?"

Violet sighed, "I... I know what you're talking about because it's the same thing that Jasmine's going through. Thing is... I have no idea who she's talking to."

* * *

"You... Are... _a fucking idiot_!" Julian cringed at his brother's shout.

"Tyler?" Julian asked, and just as Nero lunged, Tyler swooped in and grabbed Nero, holding him back.

"Easy, Nero!" Tyler said, voice low in said blonde's ear, "Just calm down a minute."

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!" Nero shrieked, "YOU'RE TRUSTING ZIGGURAT AFTER WHAT HE DID TO OUR FAMILY?!" Nero flew off into a rant in Italian.

Julian waited until Nero stopped to catch his breath, "You done?"

Nero's glare could have melted concrete.

 **(1)** "No, idiota. Io sono solo l'inizio." Nero growled.

 _So, Nero was angry enough that he wasn't going to English?_ Julian thought. _Okay, I'll play this card too._

 **(2)** "Allora immagino io sono troppo." Julian bit back.

 **(3)** "Cosa dovrebbe significare?" Nero's eyes narrowed.

 **(4)** "Lei è stato la causa del fatto di quello che ha fatto a Ziggurat il nostro nome." Julian hissed.

 **(5)** "Che cosa?! Non ero! Tu eri, da lui unendo in quel piccolo esperimento con il programma disposizione!" Nero lurched forward, trying to get into Julian's face, but Tyler tightened his grip.

Julian felt the anger rise up. Hot, throat closing up, eye watering anger, and he snarled his response before he could stop himself, this time in English.

"I did to protect you!" Julian snarled, and the force of his voice sent Nero stepping back into Tyler's chest, "When Ziggurat first started his arrangement system, you know who his test subjects were?"

"Ziggurat owned dozens of asylums- you were in one of the ones he owned, and you were one of the top people on that list! He was pulling the ones out, the ones that were most psychotic or emotionally unstable, to experiment on! He wanted them to experience psychotic breaks, wanted them to _go_ crazy! And I knew, even when dad threw you into that asylum, that you weren't but every time I managed to sneak in and visit you, you were progressively getting worse and more crazy the more time in there, and it was really only a matter of time! So say what you want, but the reason I helped Ziggurat fund his arrangement system was to keep your name off that list and fucking protect you!"

Julian's chest heaved as he finished his rant. The adreneline was running through his veins, and he felt the need to punch something- hard and fast.

Julian growled, and he turned, his coat whipping around him. He stalked out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him and leaving a shell- shocked Nero in Tyler's- who looked just as shocked- arms.

"I've..." Tyler found his voice first, "Never heard Julian say that much in one standing, or sound so furious in the time I've known him. Ah! Nero!"

Nero's legs had fallen out from under him, and he'd collapsed to the floor, shaking like a leaf.

"Tyler..." Nero whispered, "What have I done?"

* * *

 **I am soooo sorry for the late update, friends! I meant to have this chapter up ages ago, but senior year is hard! But! I'm on fall break now, so... I should be able to get a few chapters up in the next week.**

 **(1)- No, you idiot, I'm just getting started.**

 **(2)- Then I guess I am too.**

 **(3)- What does that mean?**

 **(4)- You were the cause of the fact of what Ziggurat did to our name.**

 **(5)- What?! I was not! You were, by joining him in that little experiment with the arrangement program!**

 **And... that wraps up this chapter! Tell me what you think and drop a review! Tata for now!**


	30. Haunted Eyes

Jasmine sighed, and leaned heavily against the wall, before allowing herself to slide down to the floor.

The trial was taking more out of her than it should've. Testifying against Ziggurat, the main cause behind what her torture had been.

But it just hadn't been her torture, Jasmine reflected. It had been Gingka's and Chao Xin's. They hadn't wanted to hurt anyone- they were just the victims of Ziggurat's sick arrangement system.

Jasmine's fists clenched over her knees, squeezing her eyes shut tighter.

"Now this isn't the way a lady should look."

Jasmine startled and looked up sharply. A man stood over her, his face hard to see due to the lights of the courthouse behind him. He held out a hand to Jasmine, and the woman took it slowly, allowing herself to be pulled up to her feet.

"Um…" Jasmine tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "It's just… been a rough day."

"You were the woman who's testifying against Ziggurat, aren't you?" The man asked, hazel eyes gleaming behind his glasses, "Jasmine… Lize?"

"Laize." Jasmine muttered, and she pulled her hand out of the man's grip, "If you'll excuse me, I need to go."

Jasmine turned and walked off, turning the corner of the hallway and disappearing out of the man's sight.

* * *

 _It's a lot different than it was a year ago_ , Kuro thought, black boots thumping on the sidewalks of Himitsu City. The sun was just setting over the west horizon, bidding the quickly quieting city goodnight.

Compared to Kuro's current inner turmoil… The sight was beautiful.

Kuro stopped on the corner of the street, keeping her eyes on the sky, before shutting them and allowing the sun's last rays of the day to soak into her skin.

 _Why couldn't every day be like this?_ The woman briefly wondered, _Why can't the life of the spy have the occasional moment of peace and tranquility? Why do our lives constantly have to be full of dark days and troubled minds?_

The sound of screeching tires had Kuro's eyes flying open at the same time a van pulled up in front of her, it's side door open. Kuro barely had time to utter a word, much less make a move to run, before someone slammed into her from behind, tackling her into the hard floor of the van.

Tires squealed and the smell of burning rubber hit Kuro's nose as the van lurched, pulling away from the curb.

In the empty streets, there wasn't a witness to the kidnapping in sight.

* * *

" _Idiota, idiota, idiota…_ " Nero was beating himself up about his and Julian's fight, and it was driving one person near insane.

Tyler looked Julia, a little bit of a helpless look in his eye, "Please, tell me you can get Nero to snap out of it. I've tried everything short of locking him and Julian in a closet and hoping they'd be able to work it out."

Julia sighed, "I have one thing that might work, but if it doesn't we'll have to go with that option." She paused, "I'll need you sitting in on this, by the way."

"Yes, whatever, I'll do whatever it takes." Tyler nodded, and Julia motioned Tyler to follow her into the lounge area of the suite.

"Sit." She ordered Tyler, pointing at one of the chairs, and the raven haired man obeyed. Nero looked up from his place sulking on the couch as Julia brought a chair over to sit beside Nero.

"What do you want?" Nero asked, gruffly.

"I want to know exactly what happened to you in that insane asylum." Julia stated, bluntly.

There was a beat of silence. Tyler looked at Julia like she was crazy to ask such a question and Nero looked ready to murder.

"Yeah… no." Nero shook his head, and started to stand, "Sorry, sis, not gonna happen-"

Julia moved faster than a snake. Her hand clamped down on Nero's shoulder, shoving him back into a sitting position as her blue eyes bore into Nero's.

"Listen to me, Nero Konzern." Julia's voice had turned calm and cool, strangely hypnotic. Tyler felt like the weight of all his past and burdens had been lifted off his shoulders at Julia's words, "I am your sister. What you tell me does not go beyond us. It's just us, understand?"

Nero blinked at Julia, his gaze becoming slightly unfocused, "But what about Tyler…?"

"He isn't here." Julia said, soothingly, "Look, brother, he isn't here."

Nero's head turned to look at Tyler, and the green eyed man swallowed at the utterly blank look on the blonde's face. Nero turned back Julia.

"He's not there." Nero stated, like a child.

"No, he isn't." Julia smiled, "Nero… How old were you when you were put into the asylum?"

"Almost 13…" Nero said, softly, "I was a week away from my thirteenth birthday. Julian kept telling me he had something big planned for me…"

"How did the day start?"

"Dreadfully… It was raining…"

* * *

" _Rain sucks." A twelve year old Nero Konzern pouted, gazing out the window at the downpour and black clouds, "I can't go outside and wait on Julian to finish his lessons…"_

* * *

"Raining hard, huh?" Julia asked, "What else do you remember?"

"There was a lot of lightning." Nero waved his fingers around, "I didn't like lightning then, I don't like it now. It scares me, especially the big noise that follows it- Boom…"

Tyler knew for a fact Nero was scared of thunder- anytime a thunderstorm, or just a storm, hit Italy, Nero had always gone to the person he felt safest with until it passed.

And Tyler knew that much to Julian's annoyance, that person was Tyler himself.

"I wanted to be with Julian…" Nero's voice pulled Tyler out of his thoughts, "I was scared…"

* * *

 _Nero jumped as lightning cracked across the sky, followed by a huge explosion of thunder. He whimpered, wrapping his arms around himself as he turned around from the window and walked away from it at a brisk pace. He glanced at the grandfather clock in the front parlor._

" _Three o' clock…" Nero muttered to himself, "Jules should be practicing his music right now."_

 _Nero made his way to the music room._

* * *

"You went to the music room, yes?" Julia asked, "What happened when you got there?"

Nero's eyes seemed to glaze over more, "F- Father… he- he happened…"

"What did he do?" Julia murmured.

* * *

 _Nero hadn't even taken one step into the music room, before a snarl assaulted his ears, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Nero yelped and jumped back, bumping into a wall as he did so._

" _Insolent little brat!" Nero's eyes went wide in fear as his father's shadow fell over him, "Why must you be such a distraction to your brother's studies?! Are you so self- centered that you can't go without a minute for attention?!"_

" _F- father!" Nero cried, "I- I didn't mean to disrupt you- I, I just wanted to see Julian-"_

" _Julian has more important things to do than spend his precious time with a whimpering, mewling disgrace such as yourself!" A gleam entered Rosario Konzern's eyes, "I think you need to be separated from your brother- permanently."_

* * *

"What happened next, Nero?" Julia asked.

Tyler shifted in his seat, and caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head, and stared as Julian silently entered the lounge room, a haggard look of exhaustion on his face. Julian's eyes flickered to Tyler, and the stared at each for a long moment.

Nero's voice pulled them from their staring match.

"He grabbed me, while I screaming… I remember Julian shouting too… There _was_ quite a lot of yelling…"

* * *

" _FATHER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" A young Julian attempted to lunge for Nero, but their father simply shoved him away, viciously._

" _Father please, stop, you're hurting me!" Nero cried, clawing at the hand that held tight on to his wrist- too tight, as it felt like Nero's bones were breaking._

" _Stay out of this Julian!" Rosario snapped at his oldest son, "I'm taking this disgrace to the Konzern name away for good! When I return, we will continue as if nothing has happened, do you understand me?"_

" _No!" Julian stomped his foot, "I won't let you do this! Nero's my brother- he's all I have left, since you ran off mom and Julia-"_

" _Don't you dare mention your mother, or your sister, to me, do you hear me?!" Rosario roared, his expression as wild and raging as the storm outside the mansion._

 _Julian cringed away from his father, a shattered look on his face._

 _Rosario yanked on Nero, pulling him out of the room, "Come with me, you little wretch. I'm taking you somewhere you won't disturb any of us again- and hopefully where you won't ever see your brother again."_

* * *

"I remember crying for Julian, begging him to do something- to save me, to help me- to just do _something_." Nero's voice sounded so weak, "It wasn't until much later that I realized, and asked myself: what could he have done? He was only fourteen at the time. There wasn't much he could do."

Julia's eyes flickered up to Julian, who was stepping further into the room. Her voice returned to normal, "Did you ever wonder what he may have thought?"

Nero blinked, and the glazed over look in his eyes started to disappear, "Every day. I wondered if he lived in the guilt. I hoped he suffered way more than I did, knowing that his actions- or, lack of them, really- lead to why I went through what I did. I sometimes imagined that the pain I felt, was directed to Julian, so he'd know what I went through, and-"

"There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't wish to suffer some part of what you did." Julian's voice started Nero into standing up so fast, Julia fell out of her chair with a grunt.

Nero stared, wide eyed, at Julian, as did Tyler.

Julian looked up, and Tyler was hit with a wave of grief and agony that wasn't his- he just felt it so strongly from the look in Julian's eyes.

"Nero…" Julian murmured, "Can we… can we sit down, so we can talk? After the other day… I feel like you're entitled to more of an explanation than what I gave you."

A long, tense silence filled the room, before Nero breathed deep, and let it out in a whooshing sigh.

"Yeah." Nero said, softly, "Let's talk."

* * *

 **And... I think I'll leave it here. Hopefully the next chapter will be with Nero recounting his time in the insane asylum- which, may be a bit gruesome. So... Ta- at for now!**

 **Leave a review?**


	31. Jinxed

They all sat at the kitchen table- Excalibur, Tyler, Julia, and Luke.

Nero traced a finger over the cup of tea Sophie had set out in front of him, before speaking slowly.

"Julian, you... you remember the night dad dragged me out of the house, right?" Nero finally spoke, and all eyes fixed on the younger of the Konzern brothers.

"How could I forget? Dad was furious, you were crying, and I wanted to scream." Julian muttered.

"He forbid you from coming with us, I remember that." Nero sighed, pausing to take a sip of his drink, "I still remember being terrified of what he was gonna do. I... remember the car ride. He was so quiet, it was scary, and you weren't there and-"

Nero cut off and took a deep breath, stopping himself from rambling.

"Anyways... we drove out into what seemed like the middle of nowhere, middle of a forest to what could've been a castle, in it's better days." Nero scoffed a little, "If I hadn't been so scared out of my mind, I would've made a comment about it being the set up of a cliche horror story..."

* * *

 _The rain was coming down harder than before, if possible, stinging Nero's skin as his father dragged him out of the car._

 _"Please... father..." Nero tried, one last time, his voice filled with fear and desperation._

 _"Shut up." Rosario Konzern hissed, voice barely audible over the crashing thunder. He pulled Nero up the steps, to the wooden door of the castle- like building. Nero whimpered as his father knocked on the door._

 _There was a loud creak as the door opened, and a man stood there, hazel eyes gleaming behind his glasses, brown hair slicked back in a ponytail, and dressed in a black shirt, dark pants, and white coat._

 _"Rosario!" The man laughed, and Nero felt chills go down his back._

 _"Here he is, Carlos." Rosario said gruffly, and Nero found himself eye to eye with the man known as 'Carlos', "Brought him to you, sooner than expected. Couldn't deal with him a minute longer."_

 _A slow, wicked smirk curved up at the brown haired man's lips, "Well... the sooner to get started on him, the better. I know boss will be happy to have someone who has so much... promise."_

* * *

"That's the last I saw of dad... that night." Nero's voice was a near whisper, "After that... it didn't take long for the days to blur together." His voice became hard and dark, "Carlos Marx... I remember him very well... he was the man at the head of all those... _sessions_ I was put through. Most days, the only way I got through it was by imagining his death."

A heavy silence fell over the room, before Luke cleared his throat, breaking it.

"Um... you said the guy who..." Luke paused, as though searching for the right word, before saying, "This... Carlos, guy. Brown hair?"

"Yeah." Nero muttered.

"Dressed in a white jacket, dark clothes underneath?"

"Again, yes."

"Hazel eyes?"

"Ye- Luke, what's your point?" Nero asked, annoyed.

Quietly, Luke pulled his phone out, pulled up a picture, and slid it across the table for Nero to look at.

His reaction was instantaneous.

Nero jumped back from the table, eyes wide as he hissed out, " _Get that thing the fuck away from me._ "

Luke snatched up his phone, just as Julian and Tyler jumped up to calm Nero, "Sorry, sorry, but I had to make sure."

"What was that?" Wales frowned.

"Carlos." Luke answered, while keeping an eye on Nero, who seemed to be about ready to have a panic attack of some sort, "I saw him this morning, talking with Jasmine outside the courtrooms."

Nero made a distressed noise, running his fingers through his hair.

"I shook Randi off-" Luke offered a small, nervous smile at the disapproving look Wales gave him when he said this, "And followed him to the docks. I lost him in that maze of warehouses."

Wales groaned, and let his head fall to the table with a thump, "And if you had been caught?"

"I was careful!"

"That's not the point!" Wales snapped, raising his head, "The point is, you went there without anyone knowing! What if you had gotten hurt- or worse yet, killed?!"

Luke's gaze drifted past Wales' shoulder, to the window over the kitchen sink, before they narrowed. He refocused on Wales, "Well, sorry if you don't think I can't handle myself. I mean, I did for eight fucking years, didn't I?"

Wales winced, as though physically struck, "Luke-"

"No, I don't want to hear it." Luke stood up, his chair screeching as he did, "I'm trying to look out for a friend- but apparently I can't do that without your disapproval."

In whirl of tempered rage, Luke turned and walked out the door.

* * *

"How long has she been gone?" Bao asked.

"Since late yesterday afternoon. I thought she went off on another one of her... expeditions, but when she didn't show up even after lunch today..." Xue trailed off.

"It's not like her to just go missing." Christina said.

"She did for a whole year, after Bao's 'death'." Aguma commented, dryly.

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again?" Bao scowled.

"Besides," Chris intervened before Aguma could reply, "With Bao back and dealing with his trials, I doubt Kuro would just up and leave- not without telling us first as to why she would."

"Do you know where she was, yesterday?" Nefertiti asked Xue.

Xue shook her head, "She didn't tell me anything- she never really does. She just..."

"Goes." Bao muttered, "She's a free spirit. But I know my own sister. She wouldn't be gone this long- not without a good explaination."

"So, do we need to send a search party out or wha-"

Everyone jumped as a cell phone went off, interrupting Christina's question.

Xue chuckled, nervously, "Sorry about that... I'll just step outside for a minute..."

Xue stepped outside the room, the door shutting gently behind her as the rest of the group refocused back on the subject at hand.

"I don't think so." Bao answered, slowly, "I mean... I know I said she wouldn't go anywhere without a good explaination, but..."

"But what?" Chris asked.

"There are... exceptions."

"And you didn't tell us this before... why?" Aguma frowned.

Bao opened his mouth, but Xue's voice beat him.

"One exception is that she _is_ in trouble." Xue walked back into the room, eyes hard and face pale, "That call I just answered? It was a ransom call. They want Bao in exchange for Kuro- and they're not taking no for an answer."

* * *

"Absolutely not, it's out of the question!" Ryo's voice was firm, attempting to leave no room for argument.

"But that's my sister that's out there! She needs my help!" Bao argued right back, his voice coming clearly through the shut door, "You can't expect me to not go out and help her somehow!"

"How long have they been going at it?" Jasmine asked, leaning against the wall across from the director's door.

Violet checked her watch, "Twenty minutes."

Jasmine sighed, "And no end in sight..."

Further down the hallway, Xue was talking with Nero, Randi standing with them.

Nero held Xue's phone to his ear, listening to the phone call Xue had recorded. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes as he handed it back to her, "It's him alright- I'd recognize that voice anywhere."

"Carlos?" Randi asked, softly.

Nero nodded, grimly, "Should've known- he's in town, Kuro goes missing... He's getting back into the game. I wouldn't be surprised if when we found Kuro, that she'll be... different."

"What if it was Gingka out there?!"

The whole hallway fell silent at Bao's voice.

"Oh boy..." Tsubasa pinched the bridge of his nose, "Here we go..."

"It isn't my son out there, it's your sister and-" Ryo was cut off.

"But what if it _was_?" Bao exclaimed, "Wouldn't you be trying any and everything to get out there and _help him_?"

"Yes, of course, but-"

"Or would you just abandon him, like you did when he was a teenager? When he thought you were dead?"

Tsubasa's head fell on to the wall with a loud _THUMP!_ and he muttered a curse. The voices in Ryo's office had fallen too low for anyone to hear.

"Should we...?" Yuu asked, nervously, "You know, go make sure Bao hasn't triggered Phoenix and that he doesn't try to kill Bao?"

Before Tsubasa could answer that, the door to Ryo's office flew open, and Bao stalked out, muttering in Chinese. Rage rolled off of him in waves, effectively keeping anyone from following him.

Well... almost anyone.

"Bao, wait-" Xue started, standing up and moving to take off after the redhead, but she was stopped.

"Don't follow me!" Bao whipped around, gold eyes blazing, "I... I need time to think. Just... Just leave me alone."

Before Xue could argue or say otherwise, Bao ran off.

"... am I the only one who thinks Bao is about to do something suicidal?" Yuu asked.

"Nope." Jasmine grumbled, "It's a Blackheart thing: they _always_ do something reckless when they don't need to." She paused, "We need to send someone to follow him."

* * *

 **On to the next chapter- as soon as I finish it and get time to post it... Which, I hope, is soon.**

 **Oh well... Leave a review!**


	32. Bigger They Are

_How did_ _ **I**_ _get stuck doing this?_ Yami wondered, sticking to the shadows of the warehouses, while keeping within viewing sight of Bao's form.

 _One name: Laize._ A voice that sounded suspiciously like Dark Heart's echoed in the back of Yami's mind.

 _Right... those girls..._ Yami huffed a sigh, falling back further into the shadows as Bao turned around, eyes wondering, as though he were searching for something.

Satsified that he thought no one was following him, Bao turned back around and continued walking on.

Yami followed, all the way to one of the farthest warehouse in the docks, watching as Bao disappeared into the building.

Yami narrowed his eyes, and reached up to his ear to flick his comm link on, and let out a hiss as static filled his ear. He quickly flicked it off.

 _Wonderful... without communication in a place I have no idea about,_ Yami thought. He sighed, and crouched down to his boot, pulling out a black handled knife, his fingers curling firmly around the worn leather, _Looks like I'm doing this the old school way._

* * *

Getting in was no problem- there was a broken window near the roof of the building, and Yami slipped through it easily, landing on a crate that had been just below the window.

He landed soundlessly, and laid flat on the crate, taking a moment to get used to his surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was the smell- the air was wet with the smell of blood, mold, and rot.

 _Just like the old days..._ Yami thought to himself, _There wasn't a time that where ever I went that smell didn't follow me like some lost puppy..._

"Alright, alright, I'm here, what more do you want of me?"

Yami moved slowly and quietly, jumping off the crate and to the floor, landing silently. He peered around the corner of the stack of crates, taking in the scene that was playing out in the middle of the building.

"I see that. But now I have a question for you." Carlos Marx stepped out of the shadows, arms crossed behind his back.

"What?" Bao asked, irratibly.

"Did anyone follow you? Come now, Bao. You're a thief, and you have good eyes. If someone followed you, you'd know, wouldn't you?"

Yami held his breath, as Bao sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. A thief means good eyes." Bao muttered, "Until up about a year ago, that is."

"Answer my question, Blackheart, or you don't see your sister." Carlos snapped, "Did anyone follow you?"

"... yes, they did." Bao said.

Yami reeled back into the shadows, eyes wide. How had he-

 _Busted..._ There that voice was again, sounding like Dark Heart's, in the back of Yami's mind.

"Who?" Carlos asked.

"Hell if I know. I just know someone followed me. Now, weather or not if they followed me into the building... find out for yourself." Bao said.

 _Perhaps we should run._

Yami blinked.

* * *

Yami muffled a gasp as he fell back into his mindscape, finding himself face to face with his other personality, Dark Heart. Said man was looking just a bit more menacing than usual.

 _"I mean... Bao's already revealed that we followed him. Do you really wanna get caught by the guy who drove_ _ **Nero fucking Konzern**_ _into insanity?"_

"I'm the very element of insanity, or did you forget that?" Yami hissed back, more annoyed than anything.

 _"On your good days."_ Dark Heart admitted, tilting his head a little, _"But your control is slipping. Bet you I could tell you why, too."_

Yami glared at his lighter half. Dark Heart smirked at him. Yami realized he was influencing Dark Heart more than he realized. And Dark Heart was actually having no trouble accepting it. But then again, it'd been a little more than a year since Yami had taken over...

That caused for a major headache, even more than normal, when you had two personalities.

 _"Or, you know, you could go full on nuclear war and kill everyone in the building- granted, get rid of Nero's horror, but do we know where Kuro is? Is she even here? No, we don't know that, so if you do kill everyone... well... we lose our best chances of getting her back alive."_ Dark Heart hummed.

Yami's glare turned even more acidic. One downside to having a second personality? Most of the time they knew how to play you like a fiddle.

" _So... that leaves us with the only option of retreat."_ Dark Heart said.

"I'm not a coward." Yami said, "But apparently, you are."

 _"I'm_ _ **smart**_ _. There's a difference. Play it safe, Yami. Don't get us killed. The last thing anyone needs to do is send out a rescue mission for four people instead of two."_

"You technically don't count." Yami said.

Dark Heart smirked, his form beginning to fade, _"Yeah well_ _ **technically**_ _... niether do you."_

* * *

Yami blinked, and barely ducked the punch aimed for his face.

 _That was on purpose,_ he thought with a growl. _You distracted me on purpose._

Dark Heart was quiet, leaving Yami to feel more irritated than normal. He slammed his elbow into the guard's face, and flipped the blade of his knife into the goon's neck, before stepping away.

"Ah..."

Yami froze at the voice behind him. He turned slowly, and growled as he realized as he'd revealed himself to his enemies.

Carlos smirked, "The very man who could have a conversation on madness for a week- Yami, Dark Heart's other personality."

 _Use sarcasm. Distract him._ Dark Heart recommended.

 _Like I'll listen to you..._

 _You're gonna regret it..._

"Where's Kuro?" Yami asked, laying the flat of his knife on his shoulder, "Start talking now and this'll go easier."

Carlos arched an eyebrow, "Oh come on now, can't we all just talk like civilized people?"

"You have too much a shady history for me to even consider talking with you." Yami said, "You drove Nero Konzern over the edge-"

"At the request of his father. I never turn down business."

"Kidnapped Kuro Blackheart-"

"Techinally... not me."

Yami paused. Bao looked at Carlos.

"... Say again?" They both asked at the same time.

 _Yami... run. Get out of here. Now..._

Yami pushed Dark Heart's voice back.

"Who did then?" Bao narrowed his eyes.

A long, low, creepy laugh filled the building, putting Yami on edge. He spread his feet, raising his knife up.

A shadow moved on the far side of the room. A figure started walk out, and Yami heard Bao gasp, at the same time shock filled him.

"How...?" He never got the chance to answer, as Carlos suddenly pulled a gun and fired. The bullet tore through Yami's chest.

The last thing he saw was Rago's red eyes.

* * *

 ***whistles and begins to walk away***

 **Bao/ Kuro: GET BACK HERE! *chases***

 ***runs* Leave a review and tell me what you think! Tata for now!**


	33. Control

"I don't want to die!"

Damian rolled his eyes at Jack's indignant exclaimation, "It's not dying if we're just helping a friend out."

"If Dark Heart knew you were calling the traitor our friend, he'd- well, I don't know what he'd do, but it wouldn't be pretty." Jack scowled at his partner.

Damian huffed, and flicked his bangs from his eyes, "Stop being a worrier and let's just see what we can do to help! She's been going through a tough time with the trials, and I don't think anyone has taken the time to talk to her and see if she needs anything."

Damian threw the door to the headquarter's training room open, and promptly ducked as a shout of rage followed on the tail end of a throwing knife.

Jack yelped, and bolted, like a thief would when startled.

Damian scowled at the spot the man had been standing, before pulling his jacket off and waving it in the doorway, "White flag of surrender, I'm coming in on peaceful terms!"

When there was no response, and Damian poked his head in, "Jasmine?"

"What?" On the far side of the room, said woman sat on the benches, tightening up the laces on her boots. Damian slung his jacket back on, and walked over, eyeing the fact that many of the training dummies looked like they'd been put through a meat grinder.

"Um... working out some anger?" Damian asked, sitting on the bench next to the woman.

"Anger, hate, pain, stress." Jasmine answered, sharply, her arms jerking as she tightened up the laces on her other boot. She unzipped her hoodie, and shed it off, dropping on to the bench. She picked up the knife sitting between herself and Damian, before standing and stalking over to the nearest dummy that didn't look like it'd been hacked on yet.

Damian found himself staring.

"Where'd you get _those_ scars?" He asked, referring to the burn marks on the pale skinned woman's arms and what was visible of her back.

Jasmine whirled on him, red eyes gleaming heatedly, "When, you mean. I got them when my parents died."

"... Oh." Damian said.

"Yasmina has it worse than I do." Jasmine said, flipping the knife around behind her back with her right hand, and then catching it with her left. She promptly sunk the blade into the dummy's neck, and yanked.

 _If that was a real person, their head would be clean off their shoulders,_ Damian thought with a nervous swallow.

People could say what they wanted to about Jasmine Laize- that she was a vicious, cold hearted, backstabbing, take the money and run, grifter, but only a few people knew that that was an act. That when Jasmine acted on a mission, that was an act on top of her daily act.

The woman was truly a deadly force to be reckoned with- those who came across her, and made her mad, those people never made it out alive from their encounter with her.

Or, in the very least, they didn't require a mental facility.

Damian snapped out of his thoughts as Jasmine began speaking again.

"She got out of that house, not a scratch on her." Jasmine hissed, and Damian got the feeling that she was reliving something more than actually talking to him, "Realized that our parents didn't, and I was still inside. Fucking idiot that she can be sometimes- she ran back in for me."

Damian jumped a little as Jasmine swung upwards and the blade of her knife sliced cleanly through the dummy's arm.

" _I should've died that night!_ " From right shoulder, to left hip, Jasmine stabbed the dummy and yanked the blade, making a diagonal line. Damian blinked and stared as stuffing rained down around the woman, "Instead, I just put my best friend and sister through years of pain and hell, and- _ARRHHG!_ "

The torso of the dummy rolled over to a stop at Damian's feet, mutilated. It didn't even _look_ like a dummy anymore. Just a pile of canvas and stuffing.

Damian reached down slowly, picking it up. He raised an eyebrow, stating in a shaky voice, "Harsh."

"So?" Jasmine muttered, and she walked over to the far wall, dragging out another dummy. Damian dropped the one in his hands and rushed over to Jasmine.

"Hold on a second there." Damian stated, and he pried Jasmine's hand off the dummy's arm, pushing it back to the wall, "Maybe you shouldn't make WWSA go bankrupt on buying all the dummies you destroy. I think what you need is someone who will put up a good fight."

"You volunteering?" Jasmine asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am." Damian said, "On two conditions."

"Depends on what they are."

"One, I do _not_ want to end up in the infirmary. So no weapons of any kind." Damian pulled the knife out Jasmine's hand, putting into the empty sheath on his thigh.

Jasmine gave him a look, "You don't trust me not to use it on you?"

"Safe keeping." Damian answered back, "Second, we talk."

Jasmine blinked at him, and asked, flatly, "Talk?"

"Yes, talk. Talk while training. Say whatever's on your mind, and-"

Damian reeled backwards as Jasmine slammed her fist into his jaw.

"You're the hitter- surely you saw the sneak attack coming?" Jasmine drawled.

Damian gave her a deadpan look, "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?"

"You asked to be my sparring partner. I just delivered. Still sure you wanna do this?"

Damian sighed, _What have I gotten into?_

* * *

Two hours later, Jasmine and Damian were toe to toe and in each other's faces when the training room door burst open.

"Dark Heart's in the hospital!" Jack's voice exclaimed.

Damian's concentration slipped. His head whipped away from Jasmine, and the woman took her chance, twisting his arm and then pinning him to the ground.

" _Dark Heart_?!" Damian exclaimed, too shocked at Jack's words to even care about losing, "Yami's in control right now! And what do you mean- offline?!"

"Oh, Dark Heart, Yami, same difference! The point is, the hackers have had no contact with him for the last three hours. They sent a scout team out an hour ago, and they just reported back in with the fact that they're transporting Dark Heart to the nearest hospital with a bullet wound to the chest." Jack explained.

" _WHAT_?!" Jasmine and Damian exclaimed in sync.

"How does that happen?!" Damian asked, "Someone got the best of Yami?!"

"Which hospital?" Jasmine demanded.

"Uh," Jack stepped back, "Jasmine, I don't think-"

" _Which. Hosptial?_ " Jasmine growled.

"Mercy General, the one where Nefertiti works at. She's on call there, and-"

Jasmine rushed out of the room, leaving Jack and Damian to themselves.

* * *

"Rago's calling card." Chris set the plastic bag on the board room table. Inside it, there was a small black box, about the size of the palm of someone's hand. No one needed to ask to know what was inside it.

Most likely, an object that belonged to Bao or Kuro, covered in blood.

"How did he even escape his holding cell, is what I wanna know." Tyler scowled at the box, like it had offended him personally.

"He killed all the guards looking over him. Then he stole a civilian's car-" Chris was cut off.

"After killing the guy." Tyler put in.

"And took off. This is the only thing we have that actually verfies he's been active." Kakeru said.

"We also found this there." Helios laid another bag on the table. Inside it, there was an unassuming plant to anyone but one person that present.

"Belladonna." Nero said, flatly, "Lovely. Carlos really _is_ in town."

"What's a plant got to do with him?" Julian asked.

"He used high toxic plants in his... experiments." Nero said, "Belladonna was a favorite of his, especially on me. I guess he figured I'd see his calling card and put two and two together."

"And you did." Luke said. Then realization crossed his face, "Considering Rago escaped containment... what's to say that he won't try to bust his team out... or that they won't attempt to escape themselves?"

He was met with something didn't want to be met with.

Silence.

* * *

"Jasmine..."

The woman continued to pace.

"Ja-asmine..."

No response.

"Jasmine."

Nothing.

"Jasmine! Stop pacing and pay attention to me!"

Jasmine blinked as she crashed into her sister. She looked up at the woman, who was frowning down at her.

"What," Jasmine scowled, "Do you want?"

"I'm checking on you. You've been pacing the length of this waiting room since you got here, and I'm getting dizzy watching you." Yasmina said.

"No kidding." Behind Yasmina, Ryder Colt stood. Yasmina jumped, startled, and looked over her shoulder.

"Ryder!" She exclaimed, and jumped, hugging the man, "You're back!"

Jasmine scowled as her sister and boyfriend began talking in hushed tones, oblivious to her. She sighed, and turned to look at the clock on the wall.

Three hours. It'd been three hours since Dark Heart was admitted. Two and a half since Jasmine got here.

And still no word.

Walking away from the couple that was her friend and sister, Jasmine sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs the hospital's waiting room offered. She drew her knees up to her chest, laying the side of her face on her chest and closing her eyes.

The exhaustion of the last month caught up to the woman, and sleep consumed Jasmine.

* * *

 _"Cut it out with the mind games, you fucking bastard!" Jasmine growled, so close to ripping her hair out, or maybe shooting something._

 _Or maybe both._

 _"Ah, but you started this." Yami purred from his place sitting behind his desk, "Betraying Dark Heart like that... surely you knew there would've been consequences."_

 _"Let me talk to him- let me explain myself!" Jasmine snapped._

 _"Say please."_

 _"... Please."_

 _"The answer's still no."_

 _Jasmine snarled, "Listen here, you son of a-"_

 _"If anyone's the bitch here, it's you. I mean, you put Dark Heart and his entire team at risk tonight. But I do have to thank you. This is the first time in, oh... about a decade, I've had full control over my partner's body."_

 _"Please, Yami." Jasmine said, "Release him. Let me talk to him!"_

 _"Oh, do you have any idea how great that sounds to me? You, begging and pleading for something I'll never give?" Yami stood up and walked across the room. He took Jasmine's jaw in his hand, eyes glittering maliciously, "I'm about to make your life a living hell, Jasmine Laize. I hope your ready."_

 _Jasmine scowled, and smacked Yami's hand off of her, "I've done been through hell. There's nothing you could throw at me I wouldn't be able to handle."_

 _"Oh, I wouldn't say that if I were you." Yami drawled._

 _Before Jasmine could react, his hand was around her throat and he was pushing her up a wall._

 _"I should just kill you, here and now." Yami said, musingly. He didn't react as Jasmine clawed at his wrist, "Dark Heart would probably thank me."_

 _Jasmine's eyes narrowed, and she brought a leg up, before using her position and slamming her boot into Yami's stomach. His grip on her throat released as he doubled over, panting at the impact._

 _Jasmine placed her back to the door, hand on the doorknob as she eyed the other personality. He straightened up, eyes gleaming with murderous intent. A flick of his wrist, and a knife fell out of the sleeve of his jacket and into his waiting hand._

 _"You asked for it." He growled, rushing Jasmine._

 _Jasmine sighed, knowing full well she could run, but opting not to._

 _"I'll make a deal with you." She stated._

 _The tip of Yami's knife dug into the wood of the door, next to Jasmine's head. She raised her head, defiant, as Yami narrowed his eyes down her._

 _"What kind of deal?" He asked._

 _"I'll leave... if you promise not to ever take over Dark Heart again. You'll never see or hear from me again- so long as you give Dark Heart control over his body."_

 _Yami cocked his head, "Doesn't sound like a fair deal."_

 _"Then let's make it a game." Jasmine leaned forward, getting into Yami's face, "I die... and that'll be the only time you can take control over his body."_

 _"And if Dark Heart or I should die...?"_

 _"Would you really?" Jasmine cocked an eyebrow, "But you're right. There needs to be something on the line for me if you should be exterminated... How about I get everything of yours and Dark Heart's... belongs to me, should you die? Your team... money... property... It'd all be mine, if you died and I lived."_

 _Yami stared down at Jasmine, before smirking, and leaning down, just so that their faces were centimeters apart._

 _"I've never lost a game, and I don't intend to start now." Yami whispered, "Let's play."_

* * *

"Jasmine. Jasmine! Jasmine, wake up!"

Jasmine blinked, blearily, as someone shook her shoulder. Moving slow, she looked up. Yasmina and Ryder stood over her, and behind them-

"Nefertiti!" Jasmine jumped up, ignoring her stiff body's protests at moving too quickly, "How is he? Where is he? Is okay? Is he-"

"Not dead." Nefertiti interrupted, "Single bullet, entered straight in through his chest, but ricocheted off his sternum and down into liver. It was touch and go from there, but we managed to retrieve the bullet."

On cue, Nefertiti pulled out a small glass jar from her jacket pocket. Inside it, there was a metal lump- a flattened bullet. She handed it over to Ryder, who nodded in thanks.

"I'll get it processed, see if we can trace it." He said.

Nefertiti tipped her head at him, before turning back to Jasmine, "He's sleeping, and under some heavy pain meds. It'll be a few days before he wakes up. Now, weather or not he wakes up as Dark Heart or Yami... Well... that's something we'll have to wait on."

Jasmine nodded, "Okay..." She bit her lip, "Could... could I-"

"Yes, of course. Room 509."

As Jasmine started to walk off in search of said room, Nefertiti grabbed her arm. Red eyes met green.

"Jasmine... this time, don't mess up. Understand?"

Jasmine blinked at Nefertiti, before nodding, "Yes... I understand."


	34. You Give Me Shelter

_**One Week Later**_

"I have worked double overtime," Nero strode into Ryo's office, "Tracing that bullet Ryder brought me from the hospital, digging up Rago's contacts-"

"I helped with that." Julia put in.

"Yes, you did." Nero cleared his throat, "And Jasmine has been helping me from the hospital- uh, anyways, I got two addresses. One is a safehouse of Rago's... and the other is Carlos Marx's summer house." Nero's face twisted up, "How a man of his... profession, can actually take a vacation without having nightmares is sickening to me."

"I want two teams- Xue, Chris, Aguma, Kyoya, Tyler, and Ryuga, you'll go to this safehouse of Rago's." Ryo said, "For the team going to Marx's house, it'll be Kyoya, Helios, Masamune, Christina, and Xue."

"I'll call Nefertiti, ask her to be on standby at the hospital." Nile said, "But let's hope none of you need a trip to the hospital."

* * *

Bao's chest heaved as he ducked behind a wall. He let out a muffled groan, legs shaking as he struggled to stay on his feet.

He was well past his breaking point, but he needed to stay ahead of Rago. Even if it meant outlasting him in this sick game of cat and mouse.

Footsteps, slow and methodical, echoed down the hallway from which Bao had just come down. Bao let his head fall back against the wall, a low groan slipping past his lips.

 _How in the name of hell does he do it?! I should be too far ahead of him for him to even- wait._

There was something different about these footsteps. They were slow, but too slow for them to be for someone tracking him. Bao cocked his head, listening. He heard heavy, labored, breaths, like whoever who was just around the corner was having a hard time breathing.

Bao swallowed.

 _Should I..._ He wondered, _What if this is a trick? What if-_

Bao yelped as a hand wrapped around his arm. He whipped around, his free hand flying out in a curled fist.

A pale, bloody hand caught his fist, and lowered it from in front of their faces. Bao's eyes went wide.

"Kuro!" He gasped, quietly.

"Hey, li'l bro." Kuro rasped out, leaning heavily on the wall, "Where'd you come from?"

"I see Carlos was lying now... Guess I shouldn't have trusted a word out of his mouth." Bao muttered, "I, um... was offering myself in trade for you. I was gonna take your place as Carlos' test subject, but then Rago showed up, and..."

Bao trailed off at the look Kuro was giving him- hard, angry, and disapproving.

"You're about to ask why the hell I would risk my life for yours and the answer is simple- you did it once for me, give me a chance to return the favor." Bao said.

Kuro sighed, slumping further. However, she quickly straightened up, "We need to move."

"Huh?" Bao blinked.

"Footsteps. I hear footsteps." She said, voice low and raspy, "C'mon."

Kuro grabbed Bao's arm, and they took off down the hallway. They got several turns ahead of whoever was following them, before stopping to catch their breath.

Well, Bao forced Kuro to stop, as she was looking paler and paler with each step she took.

"Take it easy. We don't need you collapsing right now." Bao said, watching as she leaned against the wall, "Just what the hell have you been through?"

Kuro stared at him, blinked one, then twice, before letting out a low groan and lifting her shirt up, slowly.

Bao's eyes widened, as several stab wounds came into view. He tried to count, stopping at twelve, before looking Kuro in the eye, "How the hell are you still on your feet?"

Kuro offered him a dry smile, "The Blackheart fire, brother. How else would I- LOOK OUT!"

Bao whipped around, eyes wide, but never had a time to react otherwise, as a something was slammed into his head.

All went black.

* * *

It was dark, and peaceful. All was silent, there was no feeling...

He didn't want to wake up.

However, the feeling of nothing didn't last long. Pain exploded in his chest when he inhaled, causing him to let out a low groan and feel even worse.

He opened his eyes, only to squeeze them shut.

 _Ow._ Those lights hurt.

Prepared for them now, he reopened his eyes, slowly. The florescent lights flickered a little, but they weren't as bright as before.

The ceiling was a sterile white, and the walls a pale yellow. There was an annoying beeping sound above his head, just on his left. A nurse had her back to him, looking over what looked like a chart.

Other than that... silence.

He closed his eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, and opened them again, startling the nurse, who had been about to check his heartbeat.

"Oh, you're awake." She said, softly and pleasantly, "Good. Dr. Storm said it'd be about a week for you to wake up. And as usual, she wasn't wrong."

 _I could probably name a couple of times where she was wrong,_ he thought, but he didn't say that outloud.

"Your friends have been in and out to see you, but your fiancé hasn't left your side yet."

 _Wait, what- fiancé?_ He blinked, and managed to find his voice, "What?"

He winced, his voice dry and hoarse.

"Right over there." The nurse waved her hand across the room, and his eyes landed on Jasmine, who was curled up in a chair, head leaning against the wall and a laptop close to falling out of her lap, "Poor thing. She hasn't left your side since she was told she could come in. She's been doing her work from here. She's barely eaten, only really taking anything to drink. She just fell asleep about an hour ago."

The nurse went about doing her things- checking his heartbeat, then his pulse, then his blood pressure, before writing it on his chart and saying, "I'm going to go fetch Dr. Storm now. Shouldn't be but a minute."

He waited until she was gone before his eyes fell back on Jasmine, who hadn't even moved. It was like she was dead to the world.

He winced at that analogy. Considering what he had just gone through, he probably didn't need to be-

The door to his hospital room banged open, and he jumped. Jasmine did too, with a startled exclaimation. A knife appeared in her hand, and she blinked at who had just entered.

"Nefertiti." Jasmine groaned, putting the knife back up her jacket sleeve, "Couldn't you have knocked?"

"Who's in control right now?" Nefertiti asked, her eyes on him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Who am I talking to?" Nefertiti asked, "Dark Heart? Or Yami?"

His eyes met Jasmine's wide, red ones.

"Since when are we engaged?" He asked, wincing at how dry his throat was.

"Dark Heart..." Jasmine breathed.

"It was the only way I could let her stay here without her sleeping outside on the hospital steps, like some homeless person." Nefertiti deadpanned, "So... Dark Heart, huh? What's the last thing you remember?"

"Other than Bao ratting me out and then getting shot in the chest by Rago? Not much." Dark Heart said, "Could... I get some water?"

Jasmine walked out of the room, while Nefertiti walked over to his bedside, and picked up the chart hanging on the side.

"Your heartbeat seems to be a little fast..." Nefertiti frowned, "And your blood pressure is just a little bit below normal. But that's all expected. You having any other problems?"

"Hurts to breathe." Dark Heart said.

"Expected. You got shot in the chest." Nefertiti leveled him with a look, "Do you have _any_ idea how _lucky_ you are?"

"I have a good idea." Dark Heart replied. He was silent for a moment, before asking, "Has Jasmine really been here all week?"

"Hasn't left for anything." Nefertiti nodded. Her face darkened, "I don't know what the hell happened between you two four years ago... But get. Over. It. Poor girl hasn't had a day when she doesn't beat herself up over what happened. She knows what she did was wrong, knows that she should have never have hurt you the way she did."

"So why did she?" Dark Heart rasped.

Nefertiti's face darkened, "Sometimes... a woman's life as a spy is harder than men could ever imagine."


	35. Holes In The Floor Of Heaven

**Your eyes do not deceive you- this is a consecutive posting! Hope y'all enjoy!**

* * *

The room was strangely quiet when Jasmine walked back in. Nefertiti was going over Dark Heart's chart, and Dark Heart was staring out the window.

Despite all this, the room held an air of tension to it.

"Did I miss something?" Jasmine asked, handing the glass of water to Dark Heart. He took it without so much as a glance in her direction.

"Nope." Nefertiti said, "Just checking to make sure Dark Heart is fine." She paused, "Or, fine as one can be when they've been shot through the chest and gone through four and a half hours of surgery."

Jasmine gave her a look, "Hey, no joking about that. I nearly had a heart attack and Jack and Damian were worse."

" _They_ didn't spend a week, day and night, in a chair that could cause back problems in the future." Nefertiti said pointedly, "Nor did they not eat, hardly sleep, or barely drink anything."

"Because they were out doing the dirty work of tracking down Carlos before Ryo could set his teams on him, and-" Jasmine cut off, her head whipping to look at Dark Heart, who had raised an eyebrow at the two women, "Um... any chance that you're too drugged up on pain meds that you didn't hear that?"

"Nope." Dark Heart's voice was clearer now, "I heard every word, and so did-" Dark Heart cut off, blinking and frowning. He raised his free hand to his temple, eyes widening in wonder.

"What's wrong?" Nefertiti asked.

"Yami..." Dark Heart frowned, "I- I don't hear him... I don't sense him! I- it's like he's _gone_!"

* * *

It'd been three hours, thirty six minutes, and twenty two seconds since Bao had woken up to the sound of Kuro's screaming.

Tied up too tight to hardly even _move_ , Bao was forced to listen, unable to block out the pain filled shrieks from his ears.

Bao opened his eyes as the screams abruptly stopped.

There was muttering and Rago's voice filtered through the doorway, "Oh, red! Seems like your sister's had enough! Let's get started with you while she recov-"

The door had barely opened, before a loud crash sounded from the room, giving Rago pause.

"What the- HEY! _AHHRRRGGG_!"

Bao's eyes were wide as he watched through the cracked open door. He saw the shadows move, Rago's form being beat down, blood spraying over the walls, and Ragos screams mixed with Kuro's shouts of rage.

Finally, there was silence.

"Kuro?" Bao dared to speak.

The door opened, and a blood covered Kuro stumbled from the room, clothes tattered, "Hey, bro."

Bao sighed, relieved, "You're okay?"

"Define... okay." Kuro choked, moving slowly across the room.

"Stop moving." Bao pleaded, "You're too injured to be pushing yourself-"

Bao cut off as Kuro fell to her knees beside him, before turning and slumping down the wall. She pulled her feet up to her body, and struggled to pull knife from her boot, before she handing it to Bao, "Get yourself free."

Bao grabbed the knife, cutting through the ropes holding him rather quickly, before moving to Kuro, "C'mon. Get up. I can help you out of this place-"

"I gave you that knife so you can get the hell out of here." Kuro coughed, blood coming from the corners of her mouth, "You need to run before Carlos shows back up.

"He hasn't shown back up in a while and I'm sure the others are on their way." Bao said, tears streaming down his cheeks, "Please, Kuro... I- I just got you back... Please... don't leave me... please..."

Kuro shook her head, weakly, "You know I won't last that long. Please... just run already."

"No!" Bao sobbed, "Kuro, please! Just a little longer, for me! Please-"

Bao cut off as Kuro suddenly grabbed his arm, and pulled him down so they were eye to eye, "Bao, there's one more thing."

Bao swallowed, shoulders shuddering, "W- what?"

"When you get out of here? Take over Team Blackheart. God knows you could lead that team better than I ever could."

"Kuro, I-" Bao sobbed.

Kuro's grip tightened, " _Promise me._ "

The tears were flowing freely now, "I... I promise."

Kuro offered him a small smile, her teeth bloody. She let Bao go, and leaned heavily against the wall, her eyes fluttering shut. In the darkness of the warehouse, Bao's sobs seem to echo on forever.

* * *

No more than an hour later, that's how Chris, Aguma, and Kyoya found Bao.

Crying over his sister's dead body.

* * *

The ambulance drove away, it's sirens loud and cutting through the grim air of the night.

"Kidnapping, torture, faking his death, family drama, and now Kuro's death." Chris said, quietly, "How much do you figure Bao could take before he breaks?"

"He's strong." Xue said, just as quietly, "It may take him a while, but I'm sure he'll get over this."

"If you say all it will take is time, I'm gonna-" Aguma was cut off by the other set of paramedics, the one's carrying Kuro's body.

" _We got a pulse!_ "

* * *

"So... Carlos is dead."

"As a doornail." Damian nodded at Jasmine, "Your info lead us right to him. He never saw it coming."

"Tch... took you long enough. I sent you that address three days ago." Jasmine scowled.

"We would've stayed longer but, Ryo's team appeared so..." Jack shrugged.

"Yeah well, Nero's smart. He would've figured out Carlos' address sooner or later, and well... you got your revenge." Jasmine shrugged, and leaned on the wall behind her, tiredly.

"Take a break, Jazz." Damian stepped up, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder, "If anyone deserves it, it's you. Jack and I will take over the protective detail. Not to mention, Nefertiti's on call if we need her."

"Don't mention anything about the protective detail." Jasmine said, quickly, "I haven't told him the other reason I've been here all week. If it stays hidden till after the closing arguments of trials next week, then we can breathe easy."

Jack and Damian shared uneasy looks, "Um... you know he doesn't appreciate secrets being hidden from him, right?"

Jasmine sighed, "I know. This... This is the last one, I swear. After next week, I'm done. No more secrets from anyone, no matter how much trouble they could get me in."

Jack nodded, "Smart woman. Now, go. We got your assignment taken care of."

Jasmine looked up, smiling weakly, "Thanks guys. I'll see you around."

Jack and Damian watched Jasmine walk down the hallway, her head held low and shoulders hunched in, before she turned a corner and was gone.

* * *

 **Two more chapters left, ladies and gentlemen! The final chapter, and then the epilogue! Both of which may be a while before I post, so... Until then, Ciao and leave a review!**


	36. Death, Is Only The Beginning

The hospital was dead quiet, save for the constant beeping of the machines in the room.

"They're all behind bars, Kuro." Bao murmured, staring at the still form of his sister, "Doji, Ziggurat, Caspian, Alyssa... all behind bars. Put into a top secret prison with the key thrown away. Rago's dead... you, you did that. Carlos got away though."

More beeping answered Bao's words, and there wasn't a twitch from Kuro.

"Ziggurat got a deal though- he changed Gingka, Ryuto, and Sora back to normal, in exchange for twenty years with probation. He'll be old when he gets out, but Ryo has a standing order for whoever is director then to keep an eye on him." Bao sighed.

Nefertiti walked in.

"Hasn't been any change, has there?" Bao murmured.

"You've been here as long as I have." Nefertiti answered, "You know as well as I do that the answer to that is no."

Bao sighed, "I was hoping..."

"We all are." Nefertiti said, "But she's in a coma, and there's not a big chance that she'll wake up."

"Not a _big_ chance? But... there is a chance?"

"... less than five percent."

Bao seemed to deflate, "Oh..."

Nefertiti smiled sadly, lowering her clipboard, "May I ask you something?"

"Sure." Bao shrugged.

"Did she say anything to you, before she... y'know... went comatose?" Nefertiti checked Kuro's pulse, making a quick note.

"She said I should take over Team Blackheart. I just don't know if I can do it." Bao sighed.

Nefertiti hummed, listening to Kuro's heartbeat.

"Well, you won't have to worry about me."

"... come again?"

"I'm quitting my job as a spy." Nefertiti said, "It's not where I do my best work. I prefer the hospital, where I _know_ I'm helping people."

Bao stared, open mouthed.

"I already turned my papers in to Ryo. In all honesty, he didn't seem very surprised."

Bao continued to stare.

"I've also heard Jazz is in the process of getting a spot on Team Dame. Kai, I think, is going to Team Wild Fang." Nefertiti continued, "There's about to be a big shift in the spy world. All teams are changing, some people are leaving..."

Bao nodded, sighing, "Making room for the next generation of spies."

"Indeed."

"Knock, knock!" A voice said, and the two consious occupants of the room turned to the door, seeing the Cadelle siblings standing there.

"Chris, babe, aren't you supposed to be on a mission?" Nefertiti asked.

"Get in, grab the file, get out. Christina helped. Mission's done." Chris said, "Any change?"

"No." Bao sighed.

"Poor thing." Christina murmured, "I wonder if she can hear us."

"Doubtful. There's hardly any brain activity. Rago really did a number on her." Nefertiti said.

"Can we not talk about the bastard that's made my life hell?" Bao muttered, darkly.

"Of course." Christina said, "Sorry, we're not thinking." She cleared her throat, "You know, there's gonna be a get together tonight. A sort of... celebration. Excalibur's hosting, if you wanna come."

Bao shook his head, "No thanks. I'll stay here. Thanks for the offer though."

* * *

"Cheers! To another case solved and the world being a just bit more safer than before." Nero called as the group clinked their glasses together.

 _Safe, my foot,_ Jasmine thought, frowning and watching through the balcony doors, _Carlos may be dead, but the Garcias are still at large. I give it... six months, before something happens._

She sighed, and turned away to look over the cityscape. She twisted her wrist, idly making the wine in her glass swish around.

"Usually, I'm the one who hates parties, or in the very least tries to find a dark corner."

Jasmine barely reacted to Dark Heart's appearance. She was getting used to it by now.

"I'm thinking. Much quieter out here anyways."

"Touche."

Jasmine snuck a sideways glance at Dark Heart; he always managed to clean up nicely for social events, despite hating them with a burning passion.

"Yami talking to you yet?" Jasmined asked.

"Still quiet." Dark Heart said, "Shockingly enough."

"You're complaining?"

"Not... particularly." Dark Heart said, slowly, "Just... getting used to it."

Jasmine nodded, taking a sip of her drink. She chuckled, "I'll give Julian the benefit of the doubt: he knows what drinks are good and bad."

"Probably a side effect for having a bartender younger brother."

"Probably." Jasmine chuckled a little.

Silence fell over the duo, suprisingly comfortable.

"So..."

" _GAH!_ " Jasmine jumped as Yasmina appeared on her left.

"Have you two made up?"

Dark Heart stared at Jack and Damian appeared next to him.

"We're talking to each other, aren't we?" Dark Heart asked.

"You'll be doing enough of that when Jazz comes to your team- _ow_!"

Yasmina yelped as Jasmine smacked her, looking panicked.

"Nothing's solid, you _idiot_!" Jasmine hissed, "For all I know, I'll be on my own-"

"You think I'm that mean?" Dark Heart asked.

All four other people present blinked at him.

"Sure, you've been through your fair share of teams... who doesn't? People want to kill you? Who the hell doesn't want to kill someone, in our line of work?"

"... are you saying what I think you are?" Jasmine asked, slowly.

"You'll have to prove yourself... but you're back on Team Dame."

* * *

 _So many transfers... retirements... so many lives affected by one single man._ Ryo sighed, gazing down at the papers on his desk.

 _Who's... in your case, thankfully dead,_ a voice whispered.

Ryo looked up, eyes narrowing at the image before him.

"Fenikkusu." Ryo muttered, "What do you want?"

 _Hello to you too, old friend._ A dark smirk settled over the other's face, _Why are you not happy to see me?_

"Your appearance usually means something bad is coming... your 'rebirth' is always trouble."

 _Ah... I always forget you do have a brain in that head of yours... But you aren't far from the truth... Things are shifty on my side of the world... Yami is MIA, and you... you and you're spies... you've only endured the calm before the storm._

Ryo's head snapped up, " _What?!_ "

 _Watch your anger, old friend..._ Fenikkusu mused, _Wouldn't wanna lose yourself to the dark side... would you?_

Fenikkusu flickered out of existence.

Ryo swallowed, trying to fight the rising dread he felt.

What was next to hit the spy world?

* * *

 ***rises from the dead* Soo... I'm alive... And finally got the last chapter posted! Whatcha think of that ending? Kinda bittersweet. And as for the first chapter of the sequel? Gimmie an hour, and I'll post it! I hope you all enjoyed this fic, because I'm excited for the sequel!**

 **Tata for now!**


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